


Don't Let Me Down

by SailorHeichou



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward in Love!Levi, Bars and Pubs, Brother-Sister Relationships, Eren and Isabel are siblings, Eren being an attractive shit, Eren is just perfect, HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAULAAAA, Insecure!Levi, Kid!Isabel, Levi and Mikasa are cousins, Levi has a lot of issues, Levi is a sucker for his little cousin, Lots of Ereri fluff, M/M, Mentions of past child abuse, Mikasa makes everything better, Mostly Fluff, Multi, Orphans, Papa!Eren (not rlly cuz Isabel is Eren's sister but whateves), Papa!Levi (not really cuz they're cousins but whateves), Song Lyrics, Songfic, What's new?, i mean whateves man, just fucking read this its gonna be cute i promise, kid!Mikasa, mentions of past physical abuse, okay i need to stop tagging now, or dont, rated M for Levi's language obviously, when isn't he?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-04-24 07:41:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 22,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4911022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorHeichou/pseuds/SailorHeichou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi is a twenty-three-year-old runaway raising his six-year-old cousin, Mikasa, after escaping from their abusive alcoholic Uncle several years before.<br/>Now a young man, Levi works two jobs just to support Mikasa and himself. With a string of failed relationships behind him, Levi pours himself into working to make sure Mikasa can live comfortably. With a six-year-old child to support, Levi firmly believes he is better off alone but his friends all think otherwise. </p><p>Enter Eren Jaeger. It's love at first sight but Levi stubbornly refuses to act on his feelings. Can Hanji and their friends, including one very attractive Eren Jaeger, convince Levi that it's okay for him to try to be happy despite his broken past?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paulinkaaxx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/paulinkaaxx/gifts).



> Eyyy, what's up SnK fandom? It's been 84 years but I'm back! (not really) 
> 
> This is just a little thing I came up with while listening to **[Don't Let Me Down by Amel Larrieux](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRFQh9B72pU)**. It's a really great fucking song and just thought it fit Levi so well. 
> 
> Hence! This very long oneshot (actually turned two-shot) you're reading now! So, shut up, sit back and enjoy this shit I wrote!

__

" ♪ Wish I had someone on whom I could lean  
Cause everybody's always counting on me ♪"

\- -

"I've already told you, Hanji. I'm not going on another fucking date with one of your weirdo friends from the Lab again."

Levi pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation as he paced the tiny kitchen of his even smaller apartment. His bare feet padded against the cool linoleum floor. He braced for another one of Hanji's long ass rants about how he needs to get out there and start dating again.

 _"But Levi--"_ Hanji squawked and Levi let out a long suffering sigh while rolling his eyes. 

He glanced back at his younger cousin, Mikasa, as she sat on the carpeted living room floor. Her large dark eyes were trained on the movie currently playing on their old as shit DVD player. She was watching Tangled for the umpteenth time that week. He wrinkled his nose and frowned while glaring at the dirty, brown carpet like it had personally insulted his mother. 

Pressing the cell phone to his chest, completely ignoring Hanji's lecture, Levi spoke quietly to get Mikasa's attention. 

"Mika," he called. "How many times have I told you not to sit on the floor like that. We _do_ own a perfectly decent couch, you know."

The tiny girl turned her head back to stare at him briefly, round eyes blinking owlishly at him before returning her full attention back to the movie she was totally entranced with. 

"M'fine." she mumbled, he mouth happily chewing on a colorful straw that was sticking out of a plastic cup filled with chocolate milk. 

Sucking his teeth loudly in his signature sign of annoyance, Levi padded toward the small girl still sitting on the carpet and scooped her up in his strong arms. Mikasa startled with a yelp and nearly dropped her small cup of chocolate milk. 

"Levi! I said I was _fine_ on the floor!" she fussed in his arms. 

"And I said," Levi huffed as he set her down on the well-used couch cushions. "that the floor is disgusting and until I can properly wash it, nobody is sitting on that floor." 

Mikasa huffed back at him, her bangs falling in her eyes as she pouted. "But I'm too far from the tv here!" 

"Tough sh-" Levi quickly caught himself and corrected his error. "--oes. Tough shoes..." 

"Tough shoes?" Mikasa asked with a furrow to her brows, a smile slowly forming on her face until she outright started giggling loudly at Levi's awkward phrase. 

"Yeah, tough shoes, Kiddo. Now shut up and finish watching your movie while I make us lunch." the older boy lovingly smoothed down her hair before pressing the phone back to his ear, just in time to catch the end of Hanji's lecture.

" _\--just want you to be happy, Levi._ "

"I _am_ happy, four-eyes. I don't need to be in a relationship with someone to prove that." 

"_No..._" Hanji agreed reluctantly. "_But you can at least do yourself the favor of getting laid every once in a while!_"

Levi opened his mouth his to argue but quickly found himself feeling flushed and embarrassed. Closing his mouth again, Levi only allowed a noncommittal grunt to rumble from his throat as he set to work making sandwiches for Mikasa's afternoon lunch. 

"Fuck you, Hanji." Levi eventually hissed into the phone. "I've got to much on my hands to even think about shit like that."

He heard Hanji giggle, "_Doesn't mean you _don't_ think about it though._"

"Remind me to punch you in the cunt next time I see you." 

"_Aw, love ya too, short stuff!_" Levi's finger hovered over the Call End button as Hanji laughed at her own terrible nickname for him. "_So, tomorrow is Mikasa's first day at the new Elementary school, huh? Is she nervous?_"

Levi snorted, "Ackerman's don't get _nervous_."

" _Suuuure._ "

"But yeah, tomorrow's her first day at Maria Elementary. It's a good thing I asked Ian to switch shifts with me from now on at the shop, otherwise I wouldn't be able to take Mikasa to school myself." Levi said, as he licked a glob of peanut butter of his finger. 

" _Oh yeah? What's your schedule going to be like now?_ "

Levi meticulously cut the crusts off the edges of the bread, after smashing the two slices of bread together to marry the peanut butter and grape jelly in holy matrimony. Then he easily cut the sandwich into four equal little squares and began working on his own lunch. 

"My shift at the Coffee Shop starts at nine instead of six now. Then I'm outta there at three, so I can go and pick Mikasa up from school."

" _Wait! So, your new shift is actually _shorter_ than before? What about your hours?_ "

Levi shrugged, despite knowing Hanji couldn't see the gesture. "I don't really have a choice. I need to be to pick up Mikasa from school. Not like anyone else is gonna do it and I'll be damned if I let her walk home from school. She's only six for crying out loud." 

"Six and a half!" Mikasa chimed in from the living room. Levi simply rolls his eyes. 

"_Wow, so how is that going to affect your paycheck from now on, getting less hours?_"

"We'll be fine," Levi was quick to remedy. "I have more than enough money saved up to get us through the next few months." 

" _But Levi, wasn't that the money you were saving up to buy a car?_ "

"Yeah," Mikasa stood next to him in the kitchen, patiently waiting for her lunch as Levi finished cleaning up after himself. Cradling the phone between his shoulder and ear, Levi carried the two plates with the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches toward the couch in the living room and sat with his legs crossed underneath him. Mikasa crawling up to sit next to him as he handed her the crustless treat. "But I guess I'll just have to keep taking the bus or walking until I can find a better job. Right now, my night job is the only thing keeping us from drowning in bills and debt." 

"_Levi..._" came Hanji's worried voice through the phone. 

"Don't fucking start, Hanji." he warned. "I'm perfectly fine. This is why I don't like to tell you shit. You worry too much." 

" _I worry because it's you, Levi! You're not a machine, you know? And besides, it's not like I'm the only one who worries either. Erwin and Petra are just as worried as I am. They just prefer not to deal with you and your grumpiness as much as I do._ "

"Tch, shut up. I'm not grumpy." 

" _My point is! I still think you'd be a lot happier if you'd just find someone who can take care of you, I mean, not just you but Mikasa too. After what happened with--_ "

"Don't say it," Levi hissed into the phone, shooting up from his spot on the couch and setting his sandwich aside. No longer having an appetite for it. "Do not fucking say it. You think I don't know that Farlan was one of the biggest mistakes of my life? Wrong. I beat myself up for that every fucking day. So, don't... don't say it." 

" _...Fine. I'm sorry. Look, I should really get back to the Lab. I'll call you tomorrow to ask how Mikasa's first day went, okay? Don't be mad at me._ "

Levi took a deep, deep breath... and sighed slowly. His tense body slowly relaxing and his anger and regret ebbing away. He felt just a little bit guilty for snapping at Hanji like that when she didn't mean any harm by it, but Levi just couldn't deal with that particular conversation. Not yet. 

"Yeah, okay. Sorry. I'm not mad." He ran a hand down his face, suddenly feeling exhausted. "Later, shitty-glasses." 

He ended the call, left his cell phone on the counter top and returned to the couch where Mikasa was finished with her sandwich and still watching Tangled. Plopping down next to her, Levi pulled the smaller girl into his lap and wrapped her up in his arms. Mikasa turned her head and smiled fondly up at him, causing all the anxiety and regret in his heart to melt. He cracked a small smile back down at her before absently watching the scene with Rapunzel and Eugene watching the paper lanterns rise into the sky.

\- -

"♪ I watch your lips moving"  
I see the words taking shape  
but Love is like a language I cannot translate ♪ 

\- -

He was absolutely perfect, Levi concluded. From the very moment he saw him, he was immediately smitten. The approximately five-foot-ten-inch modelesque man that quite literally walked into Levi's life and hit him head on like a semi-truck. He was simply too perfect for words. Too tall, too tan, too unbelievably attractive and beautiful to even be real, yet there he was striding across the parking lot of an elementary school holding the tiny tan hand of what seemed to be a miniature version of himself with flaming red hair.

People that attractive just don't fucking walk around everyday places like elementary schools. Apparently, however, this fucking guy did. He was just all kinds of distracting. With his messy, windswept hair the color of rich earthy browns and hints of blond mixed in, and his perfectly golden skin that probably tasted like milky caramel if you licked him. (Levi wondered if perhaps he would be considered creepy if he tried to lick him to find out.) But it was his alarmingly bright eyes that just had Levi stopping in his tracks to admire them. Even from a distance, he could tell they were stunning. A luminous greenish-blue, like sea glass on the shoreline. They were impossibly gorgeous, as was the man himself. 

Levi didn't believe in Love at first sight. It was a ridiculous thought. Falling impossibly, hopelessly in love with someone as soon as you see them? Be realistic. He didn't know the guy at all, had seen him for all of ten seconds before he disappeared into the small, red-bricked school house with it's white roofing. But one thing was certain, Levi would certainly be looking forward to his mornings from now on if it meant catching even the smallest glimpse of Mr. Perfect. Levi may not want a relationship, but surely _looking_ was alright, wasn't it? 

He couldn't be any more wrong. 

Fate would have it, of course, that Mr. Perfect's kid just so happened to be in Mikasa's class as well. Levi felt his heart sink just the tiniest bit when he approached the classroom at the end of the long hallway, lined with colorful cut-outs and inspirational quotes, to see Mr. Perfect kneeling down on one knee, seemingly consoling the crying child who was without a doubt related to him. She was slightly shorter than Mikasa was, with impossibly red hair, just as messy as Mr. Perfect's and pulled back into two messier pigtails. Her eyes were unbelievably large and stunningly just as bright as Mr. Perfect's, only lacking that hint of ocean blue in them. Tears were streaming down her round, tanned cheeks and she wiped furiously at them while clutching onto Mr. Perfect's previously unwrinkled v-neck shirt. Tiny fingers balled into the collar of the v-neck, giving Levi a glimpse of a very nicely toned chest and more of that deliciously tanned skin. 

He stopped walking toward the classroom, Mikasa gripping his hand, the only obvious display of her nervousness as she witnessed the crying red-head before them. Levi squeezed her hand right back, tearing his eyes away from Mr. Perfect and the crying girl. 

"Hey," he called softly. Levi waited until Mikasa was looking back up at him, large black eyes slightly apprehensive. "You're gonna do great today, kid." 

A smile broke out onto Mikasa's face, her eyes softening and the last of her apprehension melting away with Levi's words. Her grip on his hand loosened slightly and her tense shoulders relaxed. Levi cracked the tiniest of smiles at her before kneeling down and hugging Mikasa's tiny frame tightly. He would never admit it, but Levi was dreading this moment. Being forced to drop Mikasa off at school and not being able to keep on eye on her for hours. He knew he was probably just being overly protective, but with the way their life had gone so far, Levi couldn't afford not to be overly protective of his younger cousin. She was all he had. 

"Thanks, Levi." Mikasa whispered into his ear before she kissed his cheek and giggled, pulling away from his tight embrace.

Levi stayed kneeling as he and Mikasa shared one last fond look, "No problem. Now, get to class before I'm late for work." the older Ackerman feigned annoyance, to which Mikasa only stuck her tongue out at him playfully. 

He watched as she calmly walked the rest of the way to her classroom herself, only briefly stopping by the entrance to look at the crying red-head and Mr. Perfect who was speaking softly to the girl, probably trying to reassure her, just as Levi had done for Mikasa. He watched, mildly amused as Mikasa said a few words to the red-head who seemed to perk right up. Next thing Levi knew, the red-head was grinning widely, taking Mikasa's hand in her own tiny one and darting off into the classroom and out of Levi's sight. It was such a drastic and sudden change from the crying girl she was before that Levi might have missed the entire exchange if he'd blinked. 

Mr. Perfect smiled fondly after the two girls and Levi watched him curiously for a moment. He had long since straightened himself up from his kneeling position but Mr. Perfect was still propped up on one knee, the black-rimmed glasses he was wearing slipping down the bridge of his nose as he finally stood up. Mr. Perfect looked up after briefly dusting himself off and Levi realized, he was still staring at him. Fuck. But could anyone blame him? At this close distance, Levi could see every sparkle in Mr. Perfect's stupidly gorgeous eyes. In a brief moment of poetic inspiration, Levi thought that every star in the god damn galaxy had to have been scooped up and poured into this mother fucker's eyes because they were just too beautiful to not be considered universes in their own right. 

Mr. Perfect blinked twice, before eventually smiling warmly at him and the spell over Levi was broken. He blinked out of his own stupor as well, clearing his throat and looking away from the cause of his stuttering heart. He should have high-tailed it out of there when he had the chance but _nooo_ , he just had to hang back and stare at this perfect fucking asshole. His smile was just too perfect for words. Like he was some celebrity who was paid to use all kinds of expensive teeth-whitening products. Fuck this guy and his perfect teeth. 

"Hello," Mr. Perfect spoke, voice smooth and slightly boyish. 

It was at this point, Levi's brain finally seemed to kick start and before he knew it, the urge to run for his life kicked in and Levi only just barely managed to stop himself from immediately power walking away before just outright sprinting out of the front entrance of the school. Which was fucking ridiculous because, it was just some insanely attractive guy telling him 'Hello'. Not like it was some thug out for his life, or anything. But his fight or flight instincts were on high alert regardless.

A curt, "Hey," was all Levi could offer in return as he kept his gaze trained stubbornly on anything other than the attractive asshole standing only a few feet away from him. Levi hoped his naturally standoffish appearance would stop Mr. Perfect from trying to talk to him, but like some kind of cruel joke the guy opened his beautiful mouth, gearing up to say something and Levi panicked. He immediately started walking in the other direction before he could make this worse for himself. 

He didn't dare chance a glance backwards the entire time he was walking out of the school, at least, not until he reached his bus stop. Levi sat on the metal bench in front of the bus stop slumping against it without thinking, until he realized just how filthy they probably were and immediately jumped away from them as if they had burned his skin. He grimaced and pulled out the sanitary wipes he kept in his messenger bag, for just such occasions. One could never be too careful when it came to germs in public places. 

The rest of his morning, Levi found himself quite distracted but for all the wrong reasons. He just couldn't seem to get Mr. Perfect out of his head. No matter how much he tried to drown himself in his work, which frankly, was pretty slow that day. He wondered what Mr. Perfect's real name was. If he was married to some hot, red-head who was just as stupidly attractive as he was or if maybe he was a single father. Then he firmly reprimanded himself for hoping to whatever god he didn't believe in that Mr. Perfect was single. But, fuck, he hoped he was. 

If Levi was a little eager when he left his job at the Cafe that afternoon, nobody seemed to notice. He felt butterflies in his stomach the entire bus ride to the school. As he lingered around the courtyard for three o' clock to roll around, Levi caught himself keeping his eyes and ears open for any signs of Mr. Perfect. It was ridiculous, really. It was stupid. Juvenile, even. But he was acting like a twelve-year-old kid with their first crush. Anxiously waiting to catch even the tiniest glimpse of them. He tried to convince himself that it was only because he wanted another look at Mr. Perfect's amazing eyes but Levi wasn't fooling himself. He wanted to see more than just Mr. Perfect's ethereal eyes. 

As if summoned, the school bell finally rang and Mr. Perfect came strutting by, all long legs and wide strides and perfectly wind-swept hair. This time, Mr. Perfect was wearing tight blue jeans that hugged his legs (and his ass) perfectly. A deep navy blue v-neck with short sleeves and those adorable black-rimmed glasses. He was just as stunning as he had been that morning, and upon seeing Levi as he passed him by, smiled that million-dollar smile at him once again. 

"Afternoon." he greeted politely but said nothing else as he carried on into the school's main entry way. 

Levi followed after him, though at a much slower pace. He needed a moment or two to get his shit together but, fucking mother of all that was holy and good, that was the second time today that Levi thought he might just be willing to believe in Love at first sight. Perhaps, it wasn't such a ridiculous notion. But whatever Levi was experiencing with Mr. Perfect, it was pretty damn confusing and just a little bit worrisome.

\- -

"♪ You have turned on a light"  
and I've lost my sight  
but my heart still remembers the sound  
of a dream of a love one day found  
So, don't let me down ♪ 

\- -

The rest of Levi's mornings followed a sort of pattern. He'd drop Mikasa off at school, Monday through Friday, at nearly the same time every day. He'd walk her to her class, tell her to have a good day and to kick anyone's ass if they give her a hard time, see Mr. Perfect who's name he learned during the first week of school was Eren, Eren would smile that breathtaking smile at him as usual and greet him politely, Levi would either nod back in acknowledgement or grunt out a somewhat less prickly "Hey," than the first time he spoke to Eren and he'd be stuck with the guy on his mind for the rest of the day, looking forward to picking Mikasa up so he could repeat the process all over again.

Never, for any reason at all, does Levi try to talk to Eren. In fact, he does his best to avoid him all together, but he notices that Eren gets a little more persistent about talking to him every day. And Levi does what Levi Ackerman does best; he turns up his grumpy-meter to the highest level and when rudeness doesn't seem to throw Eren off, Levi eventually settles on just ignoring Eren. He stops acknowledging his greetings in the mornings and afternoons, doesn't even dare to look at him though it's hard as fuck not to look at someone that fucking gorgeous. For awhile, it seems to work. Eren stops trying so hard to talk to him, but still continues to politely greet him whenever they _do_ see each other. 

Levi thinks this is good. It's fine this way. It's safe. He's not risking leading the guy on, and by proxy he's avoiding a messy and awkward situation altogether. Levi's just happy knowing that Mikasa seems to be getting along with most of the kids in her class, and her teachers love her. They never fail to stop Levi in the halls after school to praise Mikasa's progress with her school work, and for this, Levi is beyond proud. It's all he could ever hope for in life. Knowing he raised Mikasa right and that her future was just getting brighter and brighter. He didn't need gorgeous model-like guys with stars in their eyes. He was content with just this. 

But life is a funny thing, and it never fails to throw curve balls at you when you least expect them. 

Tuesday, October 2nd, 9:56 am. Levi is busy wiping down the counter tops when a flash of brown and green catch his attention from the front window. Looking up, he's internally horrified to see Eren of all people getting ready to walk into the Cafe where Levi works mornings and afternoons. In a moment of pure panic, Levi abandons his cleaning rag not caring where it's left and darts into the back break room before Eren can see him. 

His heart is pounding loudly in his chest, his cheeks are slightly flushed and his usually perfectly combed fringe is windswept and sticking to his slightly sweaty forehead. Levi's co-worker Ian looks up at him in slight shock and worry, immediately stopping whatever he's doing and shooting up from his seat. 

"Levi, what's wrong? You look like you just saw a ghost." the older man said, his brows furrowing in confusion as he studied Levi's normally expressionless face closely. Anyone with eyes could tell the shorter male was spooked, and that was very off-putting. Levi Ackerman didn't get spooked. By anything. Their shop had been the focus of several attempted robberies in the past two years Levi had been employed there and every time, Levi was the epitome of calm and collected. Now, however, Ian was more than a little scared to find out what had the fearless Ackerman acting so out-of-character. 

"Huh?" Levi replied distractedly as his grey eyes shifted to look at Ian briefly before going back to peek out of the tiny crack left in the door. "Not a ghost," Levi shook his head, his erratic breathing evening out slowly but Levi still seemed tense. "Just, this guy I know came in and I really don't want to fucking deal with him right now." 

Ian eventually smirked as he got closer to the door Levi was leaning against, still glaring out at the attractive brunet who was curiously peeking behind the counter looking adorably confused when he saw no one there. The older man beamed down at Levi who muttered a weak insult under his breath before he pushed off of the door and stomped toward the stock room in the very back. 

"Want me to take care of him?" Ian asked, a teasing lilt to his voice. 

"Well, somebody better and it's not going to be me." Levi replied over his shoulder and then he was gone. 

With a shake of his head, Ian walked out of the break room and greeted Eren loudly, for Levi to hear all the way in back. _'Fuck Ian,'_ Levi thought irritably as he busied himself with organizing coffee sleeves. First by stacking them from smallest to largest and then eventually when he ran out of coffee sleeves to organize, Levi started counting coffee beans from a sack. He was sulking, but no one needed to know that. He listened intently to the slightly muffled and cheerful conversation between Ian and Eren, wishing that he wasn't such a fucking coward because _he_ wanted to be able to talk to Eren casually like that. 

But Levi had to tell himself, this was for the best. Eren was just someone Levi couldn't risk getting involved with, in any shape or form. Even if the brunet was only trying to be polite or friendly to him, Levi knew that whatever he felt for Eren couldn't just be innocent admiration of someone moronically attractive and just all around perfect. Levi finally accepted the fact that it wasn't Eren he was worried about falling in love with him, it was him falling in love with Eren that he was worried about. And he just couldn't risk that. Not again. Not like Farlan.

\- -

  
"♪I can't afford to be careless and let you in  
I turn my head for one minute and lose everything ♪"

\- -

Fate and Destiny are stubborn things, Levi realizes one night in late October. He'd been successful in keeping his distance of Eren at Mikasa's school, and also of keeping the location of his day job a secret from the brunet who hadn't stopped by since that one memorable morning. But Levi's night job was a completely different story. And what a story it was.

He'd started working at the swanky downtown bar, Scouting Legion, a year and a half ago when his meager minimum wage he was making at the Coffee Shop wasn't cutting it for he and Mikasa anymore. He'd gotten a tip from Erwin's boyfriend Mike that the place he did security for was looking for new people to train and hire and without much thought, Levi had asked for the address and headed downtown on the nearest bus for an interview. He hadn't expected the place Mike worked Security for to be a bar, but if Levi was being fair, it was a rather fancy bar. One of those high-end places that rich business men took their clients to in order to get them drunk off their asses and to sign contracts and all that other corporate bullshit. Honestly, Levi couldn't have asked for a better place to work. The tips were more than a little generous, and the pay was definitely better than what he was making at the coffee shop. And to think, his barista training at the cafe actually helped him advance greatly here at Scouting Legion. 

Now, obviously, working at a bar was no walk in the park. Even at a bar as high-class as Scouting Legion. Drunks were the same no matter where you went and Levi still had to put up with the occasional shit-faced patron getting a little too friendly with him, sometimes to the point of inappropriate groping (which Levi had gotten in his fair share of trouble with for decking guys and tongue lashing women to the point of making them cry and feel like shit.). Levi never claimed to be the most patient of people, in fact, his patience was very thin. And even more so when dealing with persistent horny drunks. He'd been scolded by his superiors, even had his job threatened if he so much as grabbed a drunk patrons arm next time they tried to grope him. But luckily, Levi had learned a little trick to avoid all the handsy morons and that was to simply keep at least a foot and half of distance between himself and the bar. Sure, it wasn't the most full proof plan but Levi preferred it over losing his job. 

It was a somewhat chilly Friday, one of their busiest nights and of course, Levi had his hands full with orders up the ass. He was grateful for being the type who works exceptionally well under pressure, because otherwise he'd probably would have been fired years ago. In some ways, Levi liked working at the bar. It was busy, most of the time, and busy meant that Levi didn't have to suffer watching the clock go by at the pace of a snail because he was always too busy filling up glasses with more booze to even be bothered to notice how much time has gone by. Busy nights were simultaneously Levi's favorite and least favorite nights. 

"Levi, can you handle the bar on your own for a minute or two? I have to go to the back and get some new bottles." Annie asked, her usual stony expression ever present. 

Levi simply nodded and watched as the shorter blonde girl disappeared behind the matte painted door behind the bar top. Annie was technically Levi's superior, seeing as she had already been working here for months after Levi started but the two of them never bothered with formalities like that. They were simply two people trying to make ends meet. Levi liked working with Annie because she was, in many ways, like himself. She minded her own business, didn't put up with anyone's bullshit and sure as hell didn't put up with mistakes of any kind. Their other colleagues liked to poke fun at her uptight demeanor but Levi on the other hand could appreciate it. Annie made it tolerable to work at Scouting Legion at least. 

As he was wiping down the counter for the hundredth time that night, a rather noisy group of people came in, looking more like a mob than a party of what Levi assumed was around eight or ten people. He paid no mind to the new group that arrived and went about his business of wiping down the bar top as he took another man's order. It wasn't until he hears a frighteningly familiar voice that Levi looks up toward the far end of the bar and sees a face that's practically burned into his brain by now. 

"Mr. Ackerman?" Eren says, a smile slowly appearing on his gorgeous face as he slowly confirms that it is indeed Levi. 

Levi was so surprised upon seeing Eren of all people standing at the bar, that he dropped a glass he had been busy polishing, allowing it to shatter to the ground loudly. In all of his time working at Scouting Legion, Levi had _never_ allowed himself to make a mistake such as dropping and breaking a glass. He'd never so much as spilled more than a single drop of alcohol whenever he was serving, even during the most chaotic times at the bar which were extremely rare considering the 'no-rough-housing' rule at this place. (Security didn't tolerate any kind of rowdy behavior but drunk patrons could sometimes get a little out of control.) So, it figures that Levi would make his very first mistake after seeing the object of all his wet dreams standing in his place of work, looking absolutely stunning wearing black on black and missing the glasses Levi had become so accustomed to seeing on the brunet's face. 

"I didn't know you worked here." Eren said with a laugh, snapping Levi back to reality. 

Realizing the mess of shattered glass on the ground, Levi cursed quietly and immediately started sweeping up the mess. He was quick and efficient, only taking a minute away from the bar to clean up and dispose of the broken glass safely and then he was right back at his spot, rolling up the sleeves of his white button-up and adjusting the black apron around his waist. 

"What can I get you?" Levi asked, voice stiff and professional. He absolutely refused to stare Eren right in the face. Levi knew he'd probably end up fumbling with another glass if he did so, but it was so _fucking hard_ not to stare. Eren was like a goddamn flashing neon sign on a pitch black street, just _demanding_ Levi's attention no matter how much he tries to ignore it. 

"Oh, right. Um, one Whiskey Sour cocktail and a Dirty Martini-" Eren was interrupted mid-sentence as a shorter blond male came up behind him and whispered in his ear before scurrying off, leaving Levi alone with Eren again. "-And one Sex on the Beach." the brunet finished with a lopsided grin. 

On the outside, Levi was calm as could be, but on the inside... well, Levi certainly got plenty of very nice mental images at the mention of Sex on the Beach. Forcing himself to keep things strictly professional, Levi nodded curtly and started working on the drinks Eren had ordered. The sooner he made the drinks and handed them off to him, the sooner Levi could be rid of Eren. Of course, Eren had to make things harder for the both of them by trying to strike up casual conversation. Levi cursed the fact that the noise level at the bar was relatively controlled, because now he couldn't use the excuse of not being able to hear Eren in order to cut off his attempts to talk to him. 

"So, you work at Scouting Legion. I never really pegged you as the type to work at a bar." Eren said with a casual smile as he leaned the upper half of his body against the bar. "I don't usually come to places like this but I'm kind of glad I did now." 

Levi only grunted as he finished mixing the Whiskey Sour and set that drink aside as he got to work on the Martini. He found comfort in the familiar routine of pouring the liquor, watching it cascade into the martini glass. He made so many Martini's a day, Levi was sure he could probably make one in his sleep. 

"Isabel mentioned a school play coming up soon. I can't wait to see what part she'll get." At this point, Eren was simply talking to talk. He wasn't asking Levi stupid questions, distracting him from his work and for this, Levi was grateful. He was content simply listening to Eren's voice as he spoke about pointless things. 

By the time Levi was finished with the last drink, he found that his formerly tense body had relaxed a great deal and Eren was smiling at him sweetly. The shorter man slid the drinks toward Eren, nodding his head as he accepted the payment and watched as Eren silently thanked him for the drinks and went on his way. Levi couldn't help but watch Eren walk away, studying his alluring backside in those fitted black slacks. Levi conceded that Eren looked good in just about any color he wore, but black was definitely his favorite. 

Through out the night, Levi found himself looking forward to Eren's frequent visits to the bar. The brunet was, in one word, charming. He did nothing to make Levi feel uncomfortable, nor did he ever ask him personal questions. He even managed to get Levi to chuckle a couple of times. The first time, he had admitted to only having accompanied a friend to Scouting Legion so that he could help him hit on his blond co-worker Annie but that it didn't seem to be working since Eren was the one coming up to the bar all this time. Eren had even pointed out his blushing blond friend, Armin, and Levi couldn't hold in the low chuckle that left his lips. Eren seemed pleased to have amused Levi. The second time, was rather intentional. Whenever Eren wasn't coming up to order drinks at the bar, he'd occasionally walk by to use the washrooms and whenever he'd pass by, he'd sometimes wink, smile or something make a silly face and Levi was smirking without really noticing it. It was hard not to, when Eren's expressions were just so damn amusing. 

It wasn't until one particular incident happened that Levi would realize that he was truly fucked and that he'd gotten himself in too deep. It was toward the later hours in the night, around the time when Patrons started teetering the edge of being blackout drunk. Like many times before, Levi had to deal with his fair share of drunk clients hitting on him. It was these situations that Levi dreaded, now more than ever. He was on probation of sorts. If he insulted another patron who tried to hit on him in any way, he was going to get the boot. So, Levi was forced to put up with the persistent men who kept telling him he had a nice ass and sexy body and the women who kept asking if they could either blow him in the washrooms or if he could fuck them against a wall because "he looked like the type of guy who could really knock a girls boots off even though he was short." 

Levi's patience was wearing dangerously thin, and for a brief moment Levi considered punching out the fucking tool who was currently trying to 'seduce' him into leaving the bar and going home with him and just saying 'to hell with this job.' if just to put a stop to the disgusting shit this asshole was spitting at him. No matter how much Levi ignored him, shot him a dirty look or flat-out denied his offer, the guy was determined. And just when Levi was ready to snap, his grip tightening around a glass to the point of cracking it, Eren stepped in like a knight in fucking shining armor and saved his ass, quite literally. 

"Excuse me, but I'd appreciate it if you'd stop trying to hit on my boyfriend. He's not interested." he lied smoothly, a deceptively sweet smile on his gorgeous face as he turned to face Levi. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I got held up at work. We'll leave whenever you're ready." 

Not for the first time since meeting Eren, Levi felt like he couldn't breath because mother fucking god of everything on this green earth. The way Eren just _looked_ at him just now, those amazingly stunning eyes that seemed to hold the entire milky way of stars in them sucking him in, drowning him in the genuine warmth that lay behind them. Like whatever Eren was telling him was the god's honest truth. Hell, Levi almost believed him for a minute. His heart was currently a mess in his chest, flipping and flopping and doing all kinds of acrobatics and somersaults. If it was possible, Levi was sure that his heart was probably trying to quite literally jump out of his chest and into Eren's arms and that would be the death of Levi Ackerman, twenty-three-years-old, with nothing more than a few dollars to his name. 

Well, it certainly wouldn't be the worst way to die, Levi concluded after the whole ordeal was over and done with. But he had to step out after that incident because his heart just couldn't take it. Eren had just called him his boyfriend, talked to him as though he really were his lover and looked at him with so much love and warmth in his eyes that Levi had to stop and pinch himself because that couldn't have just fucking happened. Not to him. Good things didn't happen to Levi. The world just hated him like that. Levi was meant to be alone, wasn't he? He had the string of failed relationships behind him to prove it. He'd tried dating his long time friend Petra, even forcing himself to tell her he loved her and that he wanted to marry her when in his heart of hearts, he knew he didn't. Now, she'd found happiness with his best friend Hanji and Levi was happy for them, of course he fucking was. Petra had back out of their relationship after he'd taken up the responsibility of raising Mikasa when she was just a baby, orphaned and all alone and so tiny and defenseless. She'd tried to be his wall of support to lean on, she tried to pretend like it didn't hurt when Levi admitted that Mikasa was more important than anyone else in his life at that time (and still currently was). But in the end, Petra needed someone who would put _her_ first and Levi just couldn't do that for her. It was a similar situation with Erwin, although Levi would admit, that one was entirely his fault. He'd wanted Erwin, and Erwin had wanted him but Mikasa was still so young and while Erwin was more than ready to accept both Levi and Mikasa as they were, Levi just couldn't allow himself to trust anyone else with Mikasa's safety. After everything he'd gone through to get he and Mikasa away from that _monster_ , he'd pushed Erwin away and eventually watched as he'd walk out of his life. Thankfully, they stayed friends, even to this day. But Levi would always regret not giving Erwin the chance he deserved. At least he had found happiness with one of their mutual friends, Mike. The two blond idiots were nuts for each other. 

And then, there was Farlan. Both the best and worst decision of Levi's life. Farlan had been everything to him, more than just a boyfriend and a lover, but truly Levi's rock in every way. Mikasa had become very fond of him, and Farlan in turn had taken such good care of Mikasa, protected her just as fiercely as Levi would have. And then, he had to go and get himself killed, leaving Mikasa feeling the pain of loss for the first time in her life and leaving Levi all alone in this world and it was all his fault. If Levi hadn't asked him to go out that night to get medicine for Mikasa's fever... Farlan would probably still be here and Levi wouldn't be going through all this shit. 

He leaned against a wall in the washrooms, his throat tightening painfully around a lump as the memories and the regret and self-hatred washed over him like a wave crashing against the shoreline, bathing him in it and suffocating him. No, good things didn't happen to Levi Ackerman and that was just how the world worked. Wiping away a stray tear angrily, Levi splashed some cold water on his face, scowling at his own tired reflection in the mirror because there was just no way in fuck that Eren could possibly be interested in someone as messed up as Levi. It was just wishful thinking and probably his loneliness talking. He was fine one his own, has been fine on his own. And he would be fine on his own for many years to come. All he needed in his life was Mikasa.

\- -

"♪ With my hands held real tight  
Always ready to fight  
for the few pieces of joy I have now ♪"

\- -

""  
_He left you his number!?_  
Hanji's familiar screech had Levi cringing as he held the phone away from his ear.

"Shut the fuck up, you fucking banshee. You could have ruptured my eardrum!" Levi hissed back at her. 

He got a few strange looks as he pushed his cart through the soup aisle at the supermarket, then again, who wouldn't give him weird looks when he was cussing the fuck out of his phone. Still, Levi only glared back at them, not caring if they thought him rude for his crass remarks. Not like they had to listen into his conversation anyway. Nosy ass motherfuckers. 

" _But, Levi! This is great! Petra told me about some gorgeous guy at Mikasa's school when she went to pick her up that last time when you had overtime. If it's the same guy I think you're talking about, then OMG LEVI YOU NEED TO CALL HIM RIGHT NOW!!!!_ "

Levi sighed, cradling the phone between his shoulder and ear as he reached for a box of cereal to put into his basket. He had to stand on his very tiptoes and he might have maybe popped something reaching up to grab the box, but fuck whoever placed that brand of cereal so fucking high anyway. He was going to write a very strongly worded letter to the Manager of the store and accuse them of being siziest for this. 

"Fuck off, I'm not calling anybody, shitty-glasses. I'm not interested, nor do I have the fucking-- _god damn it_. Fuck this shit, I'm just not getting any fucking cereal."

He could hear Hanji snickering on the other line, _"Couldn't reach something on the top shelf again, huh?"_ Levi wasn't about to delegate that with an answer. Hanji knew very fucking well his struggle with high things. She just liked to make fun of him by making him spell it out for her. _"You see? This is why it would be good for you to call that hot guy, what was it his name again? EREN! I bet _Eren_ would be able to grab that thing off the top shelf for you and you wouldn't have to put up with that anymore."_

Levi couldn't help it, he blushed at the very thought of he and Eren going grocery shopping together and Eren being a total gentleman and grabbing the box of cereal off the top shelf for him. Probably smiling that beautiful smile of his and calling him "Sweetheart." again like he did at the bar the other night. God, Levi was lonely. Or he just needed to get laid... maybe both.

\- -

"♪ I take responsibility for the few things I've done right  
but I've got so much on my plate I'm scared to take another bite ♪"

\- -

Petra had called him after hearing from Hanji about getting Eren's number, and she threatened to castrate him if he didn't call. To which, Levi had promptly told her to 'Mind her own fucking business.' but of course that just resulted in Petra calling him every chance she got just to hurl more threats at him. The threats didn't move him an inch. A week later and he still hadn't called Eren, nor would he ever.

It had gotten much too easy for Levi to get up ten minutes earlier in order to get Mikasa to school ten minutes earlier, all in order to avoid running into Eren at all costs and saving himself from a having to explain why he hadn't called the brunet yet. It eventually got to the point where even Erwin had to get involved, patient man as he was, and Levi had to endure what he liked to call Erwin's "Dad Lectures" which were lengthy and quite frankly, boring.

He had just finished getting one of Erwin's famous "Dad Lectures", promptly telling Erwin to go put his mouth to better use and blow Mike before hanging up. Tiredly, he sagged back into the couch cushions and sighed heavily. In the background, he could hear some irritating kid's show on and Mikasa giggling to whatever was on screen. He found comfort in the sound of her laughter, reassuring and bright and just all kinds of pure and innocent. It was the sound of her laughter that chased away the constant threat of nightmares and the ever looming darkness that crept into his mind at any given chance. 

As if sensing that his mind was already starting to darken, Levi felt tiny movements next to him on the couch, guessing that Mikasa was probably climbing up to sit next to him. He guessed correctly when he felt a familiar weight and warmth plop themselves unceremoniously into his lap, causing a breath of air to leave Levi in a rush when a hard skull crashed into his chest. Cracking one tired grey open to glance down at a familiar sight, Levi couldn't help but chuckle. Two very large, very dark eyes blinked up at him curiously. Wrapping a protective arm around her torso, Levi brought Mikasa closer, if that was even possible. Her presence was very calming and he felt his anxiety begin to fade slowly. 

"Out with it, Mika. You have that look in your eyes like when you want to ask me to buy you something at the store." Levi mumbled into her hair as he rested his head on top of hers. 

Mikasa murmured quietly into his shirt for a moment, uncharacteristically shy and timid. Levi felt a sudden pang of worry strike him and he was immediately going into what Hanji teasingly called his "Daddy Mode". 

"Mika?" He asked again. This time, softly and voice laced with pure concern. 

When he met those large, almond eyes once again, they were filled with a sort of apprehension that made his gut twist horribly. It was a look Levi never wanted to see on his precious little cousin's face. Ever. He started rubbing his hands down her back, soothingly. His expression becoming more fierce the longer Mikasa fidgeted in his arms. He swallowed dryly, his heart pounding in his chest, expecting something horrible to come out of her mouth. 

"W-Will you..." Mikasa mumbled quietly. Levi was unable to clearly understand what she said. 

"Speak up, baby girl." Levi cooed. He was beginning to become very worried the longer Mikasa hesitated. He wished she would just come right out and say whatever it was that was worrying her and put him out of his damn misery. 

Mikasa must of noticed the way he used her little nickname "Baby girl". She knew Levi wasn't one for pet names, let alone lovingly saying them. He was rather prickly and grumpy must of the time, always calling her by name or by the more commonly used "Kid." she'd become so used to. Levi only called her "Baby girl" when she was younger or when he was worried about something pertaining to her. Levi could see the way her small, round cheeks began to darken with heat and he felt his stomach drop. 

"W-Will you... g-go to my school play this Sunday!?" she finally blurted out. Her tiny hands clenched tightly into fists as she shut her eyes. 

Levi sat there, staring at his little six-year-old cousin completely gobsmacked. It took a lot to catch one Levi Ackerman off guard, and it wasn't very often that he was off his guard but this single moment was one such a time. His thin brows were raised nearly all the way to his hairline, his normally sharp grey eyes were wide and his mouth hung open in complete astonishment. For not the first time in his life, Levi was speechless. 

"H-Huh!?" was all he could utter after a good minute of pure silence. 

Mikasa began to nervously fidget in his lap, her fingers twisting into the fabric of his t-shirt as her blush darkened and she searched Levi's face desperately. 

"It's just that everyone in my class is going to be in it and they gave out our parts this Monday and we've been practicing and I've got one of the lead parts and Isabel is gonna be in it too and she wanted me to go over to her house and practice with her but I told her I can't because I have to ask you first and-and-and-" Mikasa finally stopped to take a breath before she started up again. "Please-please- _pleeeease_ say I can go over to Isabel's house on Saturday to practice and that you'll come watch me during the play on Sunday!" 

Levi still sat there, speechless, as he watched Mikasa beg him earnestly. In a fit of mild hysteria and pure relief that nothing was wrong with Mikasa, Levi began to laugh uncontrollably. He laughed and laughed and laughed until he couldn't breath anymore and even then, he still managed to gasp for bits of air only to begin laughing hysterically once again. It got to the point where even Mikasa got fed up with his laughing fit. 

"What's so funny!?" She pouted, hitting Levi on his shoulder. "Is it that weird that I'm going to be in a play...?" her pout turned into a soft frown and tears misted her eyes. 

Levi finally got a handle on his laughter, breathing in shallowly to catch his breath as he wiped away tears from his eyes. Once he felt like his laughter was gone, Levi sighed and wrapped a sulking Mikasa into his arms, hugging her tightly to his chest while she fussed against him. 

"Ah," Was all Levi could managed at first before pausing to get his words together. "I'm sorry, Mika. I wasn't laughing at you. Actually, I'm not really sure why I was even laughing to begin with." He explained with a chuckle. "Of course I'll go watch you at your school play on Sunday. Wouldn't miss it for the world, baby girl." 

Levi kissed the top of her head and from his chest, Levi could feel rather than see or hear Mikasa laughing against the material of his shirt. The relief that had washed over him earlier must have been washing over Mikasa now that she knew Levi would definitely be there to watch her at her school play. 

"But," Levi continued, a more stern and serious tone to his voice now. "I'm only letting you go to Isabel's house saturday to practice as long as I'm there with you, got it? Who knows what kind of weirdos live there." 

Mikasa wiggled out on his embrace, sitting up on his midriff and grinning down at him. Her black hair was a mess from all their rolling around on the couch and Levi meticulously smoothed down her hair, sweeping her long bangs out of her face and making a mental note to give her hair a trim before the week's end. 

"Thanks, Levi!" beaming, Mikasa threw her arms around his neck and nuzzled into the crook tickling Levi slightly as he continued to stroke her hair soothingly. 

"Anything for you, Kid." 

Before long, Levi began dozing off until he was in a light sleep with an equally as sleepy Mikasa on his chest. The both of them just enjoying the silence of their apartment, with the only noise being that obnoxious cartoon character currently on tv. Whatever was left of Levi's stress and anxiety was quickly forgotten as he took the most restful nap he'd gotten in days.

\- -

_♪ Your past may be rocky  
But your present is clear  
My present situation is the sum of all my fears ♪_

\- -

Fate and Destiny, it seemed, enjoyed making Levi's life a living hell. After successfully managing to avoid Eren for nearly two whole weeks, on one particular friday morning that changed.

Honestly, it was his own fault for not being more cautious. Eren had already come into the Coffee Shop where he worked mornings and afternoons once before, there was really no guarantee that he wouldn't stop by again unless he really fucking hated the coffee or service. (Which, Levi would admit, apart from the service on his part, the coffee and tea they served was pretty damn good. Better than one Rip-off-bucks.)

He had been standing on a stepping stool, his back facing the front of the shop where, had he been facing toward the entrance, he probably would have seen Eren coming a mile away like he'd done last time. But, since he had his back turned and he was busy cleaning the top shelf of one of their machines, Levi did not in fact see Eren coming from a mile away and was startled when he heard someone clear their throat from behind him, nearly stumbling off the step stool. 

"Shit-!" he'd cursed as he caught himself just in time to avoid killing himself. Narrowly. 

"Oh, my gosh. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, Mr. Ackerman." a painfully familiar voice said from behind him. 

Levi froze for a second or two, his back stiff as a rod as he swallowed. _'Fuck, I'm so fucked.'_ he'd hissed at himself. He had been hoping to avoid any kind of confrontation with Eren about the whole 'giving-him-his-phone-number-and-Levi-never-calling-him-and-avoiding-him-for-two-whole-weeks' thing. Now, Levi wasn't one to back away from confrontation but when it came to things like this, he'd much rather not deal with it at all. Too much drama. Too much trouble. But, he braced himself for the worst-case-scenario and slowly but surely turned to face the one person he just couldn't bare to see right now. 

To his surprise, Eren was standing behind the other side of the counter smiling somewhat sheepishly at him. No traces of anger or hurt anywhere on his expression, only humility and genuine embarrassment. Still, even with the black-rimmed glasses Levi was so used to him wearing currently on his face and now sign of any tight black clothing in sight, Eren was as breathtaking as ever and damn Levi for noticing that first. He wondered, for a brief moment, what expression--or lack thereof-- was currently displayed on his own face because while the silence stretched on between the two of them, Eren grew increasingly more embarrassed. 

"Ahem," Eren cleared his throat, finally breaking the thick silence that hung between them. "Um, c-could I get an iced matcha green tea latte, please?"

That finally got Levi snapping back to the present situation at hand, immediately switching to 'work mode' as he started reaching for the cups near one of the machines. 

"Small, Medium or large?" he asked, finally tearing his gaze from Eren who immediately seemed to relax. 

"Medium, thanks." 

"For here or to go?" 

"Um... to go, I guess." 

Levi cocked a single brow at that somewhat hesitant and awkward answer but paid no mind to it as he got straight to work making Eren's order. His co-worker Ian came out to give him a leering grin every now and again, to which Levi only subtly shot him the middle finger. When he was done ringing up Eren's order, the brunet seemed to be troubled by something, judging by the furrow of his thick brows and the crease in the center very similar to Levi's. He swallowed habitually when he noticed Eren lick his lips and part them to say something. 

"Uh... look, I think I should apologize." were the first words out of his mouth, and Levi blinked slowly at him. 

_'For what? Being an attractive asshole with the nicest smile and also a total gentleman?'_ Levi wanted to say but he kept his mouth tightly shut. Conceal, don't feel, bitch.

Eren continued, "I mean, about that night at Scouting Legion. I was way out of line leaving my phone number like that and I understand if you're... upset. I didn't intend to make you feel uncomfortable in any way but," he paused to laugh awkwardly. "I'm a pretty hard-headed guy and I guess I just wanted you to know that I was, um, interested in you. But that's no excuse for my behavior. So... um, yeah. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry." 

Feeling guilty for reasons Levi didn't think were his own fault, he watched quietly as Eren grabbed his iced latte, placed a crisp five-dollar-bill on the counter top and turned to walk out of the coffee shop. With no small amount of deep regret and subtle anger at himself, Levi snatched up the bill from the counter top and placed it in the till. Glancing up one last time, he noticed Eren hesitated halfway out the front door before the brunet turned back to look at him and smile that mega-watt smile. 

"I hope to see you at the school Monday morning." 

And then he was gone, like a whisper of wind that just swept through the shop briefly, leaving Levi feeling cold and quite honestly, empty. Damn Eren and his good looks and his too-perfect personality. Levi didn't need this bullshit. He had more important things to focus on right now. Like finding a way to make sure they had enough for this month's rent AND for grocery shopping on top of that. Not to mention, Levi had to buy Mikasa all the things she needed for her play this sunday. He didn't fucking have time for gorgeous, model-like brunet's who apparently for fuck-only-knows-why was interested in him and boldly gave him his number. It was too good to be true, Levi thought, not for the first time since meeting Eren.

\- -

_♪ Never seen Love face-to-face  
Just seen it walking away  
Why would you think I would recognize something that's never been mine? ♪_

\- -

Fate and Destiny would have it, naturally, that on Saturday afternoon upon arriving at a rather expensive looking apartment complex, the person to open the door and greet Mikasa and Levi was one Eren Jaeger. (Levi had read the surname on the mailbox with Isabel's apartment suite number on it.) To say that he was stunned would be an understatement and Eren seemed anything but surprised.

"Hey, you guys made it!" He had greeted cheerfully, and maybe just a tiny bit excitedly as well. "Hey, Mikasa." Eren beamed down at the girl who smiled back at him.

Levi just couldn't help but take in Eren's appearance as he stood in the doorway, stepping aside to allow them in. Eren wore a very fitted, if not tight, white v-neck t-shirt very similar to the other v-necks Levi had seen him wear only this time the sleeves were short and Levi could see Eren's toned biceps and even more of that wonderfully tanned skin of his. His shirt was untucked, but the hem tapered downward to his waistline and Levi took in the torn blue jeans that looked well-worn and comfortable. Not too tight, not too baggy. Just perfectly hugging his form but leaving enough room to breath. He was also barefoot, but Levi could see a pair of dusty converse haphazardly piled next to the doorway. 

"Sorry, Isabel and I just got back from shopping ourselves so the place might be a little messy. Hope that's alright." Eren said as he eventually just walked into the small foyer, leaving the door wide open for Levi and Mikasa to come in. 

Mikasa's smaller hand slipped out of Levi's grasp as she walked into the apartment, beckoned by Eren's voice calling out the name "Isabel". Levi followed after her slowly, toeing off his boots and placing them neatly besides Mikasa's little black slip-on's by the doorway. Shrugging off his leather jacket, Levi hung it up on an empty hook behind the door and followed the sound of excited voices that eventually led him to the decently sized kitchen. 

Levi took in the spacious front room that was all open with nothing separating the kitchen from the living room except a very large island. Eren's apartment was quite modern and surprisingly cleaner than Levi expected. Judging by the way Eren's shoes were just carelessly stacked by the door, he had expected the place to be a bit messy but it was actually quite spic-and-span. There was the occasional article of random clothing which he could easily guess were probably Isabel's judging by the small size and bright pink and teal colors. A jacket thrown carelessly over the back of a couch, a sock peeking out from underneath the cream-colored couch, some colorful construction paper spread around the coffee table with random scribbles on it here and there and even some tubes of glitter and glue as well. The sight was very familiar yet alien at the same time. 

"Mikasa, look, look! This is our bunny rabbit!" Levi heard an excited voice carry from a room down a narrow hallway. 

"How cute!" he heard Mikasa coo. "What's it's name?" 

There was a wild fit of giggles before he heard that same excited voice say, "Dreamy! But that's just a nickname."

Before Levi could hear anymore of the two little girl's excited chatter, Eren caught his attention when he came into the living room where Levi was standing, arms crossed tightly over his chest. He offered Levi another sheepish smile as he started trying to clean up some of the mess in the living room. 

"Sorry, I know it's messy. Just gimmie a minute and I'll have this cleaned up. Would you like some coffee? Water?" 

Levi promptly kept his gaze trained on the mess in the living, no doubt his expression was probably sour but it wasn't because of the mess. It was because of how his heart reacted with Eren so close in proximity to him. It was a fluttering mess and he hated it. It took every once of self-control that he had not to just thrown Eren down on the very conveniently placed couch and just shove his tongue down his throat because, honestly? It's not like Levi hadn't been thinking about doing that for the past few months since first seeing Eren. 

"Tea," was all he supplied in a hard tone before quickly adding on as an afterthought, "If you have any, that is." 

Eren smiled up at him sweetly, "Of course! What kind would you like? I tend to end up collecting a variety of them because I'm so damn indecisive." he chuckled. 

"Just black is fine." 

"Sure thing. Oh!" Eren popped up from his spot bending over the coffee table, cleaning up the glitter and construction paper. "I hope you don't mind but the girls are expecting their friend Krista to show up as well. She should be here soon." 

Levi replies with a curt nod, "That's fine." 

Nodding back in some form of agreement, Eren hurries off to put on a pot of water for Levi's tea while continuing to pick up random things on his way to the kitchen. Levi awkwardly shifts his weight over from foot to foot, feeling very uncomfortable and quite frankly, nervous. This was just the best fucking situation, wasn't it? Eren probably thinks he's some homophobic asshole who's weirded out by him because of the whole incident with his phone number at the bar, when that couldn't be any farther from the truth. And Levi was just so tense whenever the brunet was around, it was hard for him to even attempt to relax when this whole situation was just all kinds of awkward and weird. 

In the end, Levi settled for just sitting on the couch with one of his legs crossed over his knee, arms still tightly crossed over his chest. This was going to be the longest afternoon of his life, Levi realized. Who knew how long the girls were going to be holed up in Isabel's room practicing for their play tomorrow night, and Levi was stuck having to make awkward conversation with the one person he just so happened to be hopelessly attracted to, and who also thought Levi probably hated him when it was the exact opposite. 

"Here you go," Eren announced, carrying a cup of piping hot tea with him and setting it on the now clear coffee table. "Didn't know if you wanted sugar with it or not. Forgot to ask." 

"Just a spoonful. Thanks." 

After adding Levi's spoonful of sugar, the shorter man took a sip and immediately felt his body start to relax as he felt the hot liquid travel it's way down his throat and into his stomach. Pure bliss. Eren sighed and took a seat on the off-white carpet, a few good feet away from Levi. He had a rather large water bottle placed in his lap, half-emptied by now but as Levi stared at Eren from the corner of his eye, he noticed how tired the brunet looked. 

"Long morning?" Levi asked before he could catch the words from coming out of his mouth. This was probably the first time he'd ever been the first one to initiate conversation with Eren. In fact, this was the most they'd ever conversed at all since meeting. 

The brunet smiled brightly at him, something that had Levi's heart stuttering as he looked away, fearing going blind by how bright Eren's smile was. 

"That's an understatement." he laughed just as tiredly as he looked. "Been up with that girl since 5 am." Eren jerked his thumb in the direction of what Levi assumed was Isabel's room. "Running on about three hours of sleep currently, but nothing a little bit of coffee won't fix." 

"Hm." was all Levi said in response. He wasn't one for small talk. In fact, he was horrible at it. The worst, actually. 

Luckily, Eren seemed to be a natural at it. "Has Mikasa told you anything about the play or what part she'll be playing?" 

Levi shook his head, "Not really. She said she wants it to be a surprise or something." 

At that statement, Eren giggled. "I think you'll find it hilarious. Izzy hasn't been able to shut up about it ever since she found out the play was happening." there was a fond twinkle in Eren's eye as he spoke about Isabel, and Levi felt that little pang of something in his chest again. 

Speaking of Isabel, Levi hadn't seen any pictures of what could possibly be Isabel's mother or Eren's wife anywhere. Considering that Eren had given him his number, he could assume that Isabel's mother was no longer in the picture. At least, that's what Levi hoped was the case. In signature Levi fashion, he opened his big mouth without thinking and probably said the worst thing possible. 

"Where's Isabel's mother?" 

The light that was normally in Eren's bright eyes seemed to fade as soon as that question left Levi's lips and he regretted being the one responsible for taking it away. That milky way of stars was nowhere to be found as Eren smiled a rueful smile and fiddled with the cap to his bottle. 

"She died, during childbirth." was all Eren supplied, something darker seemed to linger behind his eyes, a darkness that Levi was painfully familiar with. 

It startled him greatly, to see that familiar darkness in someone else's eyes, other than his own. Eren always seemed so bright and perfect that it was hard to imagine that he's had just as hard a life as Levi's possibly, but everybody had different stories and he was sure that whatever darkness he saw in Eren's eyes was just his own imagination and hopeful heart. 

"Sorry." Levi supplied blandly. There was really nothing else he could say to that. 

"It's fine. It was a long time ago. The important thing is that Isabel is alive and healthy. As her older brother, I just can't help but spoil her just a bit, you know?" 

At this new information, Levi whipped his head around to look at Eren like he'd just sprouted a second fucking head. 

"Brother? You're not her Father?" he couldn't help but ask. 

Eren's large eyes blinked owlishly up at him before the brunet was tipping over on his side, laughing loudly. 

"Y-You thought I was her Father?!" he wheezed through another fit of laughter. 

"Well, fuck yeah. You two look so fucking similar to each other, how can anyone not think you're her father?" Levi grumbled, his cheeks heating in embarrassment at having been wrong about Eren's relation to Isabel. 

"I-I'm s-sorry," Eren breathed, once his giggle fit was through. "It's just- just that nobody has ever asked me that before." the brunet sat upright once more, wiping tears from his eyes as he regulated his breathing. "I think I should probably clear some things up before there's anymore confusion." 

Levi glared at Eren briefly, "That would fucking help, dipshit." 

Clearing his throat and dismissing the verbal insult thrown his way, Eren took on a slightly more serious expression. One that had Levi giving Eren his full attention because he knew somewhere in the back of his mind, this wasn't going to be a happy story.

"Isabel is my younger sister. I adopted her when I was twenty, after our mother died giving birth to her. Our Father was a very well-respected Doctor but he wasn't the nicest person around, and after my mother died he kind of just... lost it. I decided there was no way in hell I was going to leave Izzy to be raised by that bastard, so I dropped out of med-school and decided to raise her myself. It wasn't easy, obviously, but luckily my old man left me a trust fund that I hadn't touched since leaving the house at eighteen. That's the only reason I was able to afford this apartment and the only reason why I still can." 

Levi watched Eren's expression carefully, searching for any trace of a sign that he might be lying or playing the sympathy card just to get Levi to buy his sob story, but all he could see was the genuine truth on his face and that ever looming darkness in his eyes. Eren wasn't giving him the details, just the bare minimum of what Levi needed to know in order to clear up any future misunderstandings. Honestly, it made sense. Their apartment was rather high-class but Eren and Isabel themselves didn't come off as snobby or rich in any way, shape or form. And Levi could spot a privileged, wealthy bastard from a mile away. 

"Hold on," Levi started, something clicking in his head. "If you were twenty when Isabel was born and she's six-years-old now, that would make you..." 

"Twenty-six?" Eren supplied helpfully with a smirk and a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, I know. Looks can be deceiving."

Levi was quiet for a moment, taking in the fact that Eren was in fact three years older than he was, which quite frankly blew his mind because at the oldest, Levi figured Eren would be about twenty. Man, were his guesses way off. 

"Tch, what the hell do you eat to look that fucking young all the time? The essence of young teenage girls?" Levi grumbled. 

Eren barked out a loud laugh, "Well, damn. I've been found out."

For the first time in what seemed like forever, Levi finally relaxed. Upon hearing the minor details about Eren's situation with Isabel, Levi found himself lowering his guard, if only just a tiny bit. It was actually quite relieving and frightening at the same time, to know that Eren was apparently in the same boat as he was. This conversation seemed to be just the icebreaker they both needed, because as soon as Levi started relaxing, Eren boldly asked his next question. 

"What about you? No offense, but you look way too young to be Mikasa's father." 

Levi tensed up again but soon realized it would only be fair if he also gave Eren a little bit of information about himself as well. Besides, it wasn't like Eren was asking him for intimidate details. He just wanted to know what relation he had to Mikasa and Levi would understand the fairness of such a trade of information. 

"She's my little cousin on my mother's side." he supplied vaguely. "Her parents were killed in an armed robbery when she was just a baby." 

Eren's face took on a much more serious expression, not a single trace of pity in his eyes but genuine concern. 

"That's awful. I'm sorry." Eren said softly. 

At this, Levi could only shrug. "That's life. The world is a cruel place." 

"It's strange, though." Eren added quietly. "You both look very similar to one another, I would have thought you were more than just cousins. More like siblings than anything else." 

"We've gotten that a lot." Levi snorted sardonically.

From there, Levi and Eren seemed to fall into a comfortable silence, simply enjoying each other's company as Levi drank his tea and Eren sipped his water. Every now and then Eren would ask a casual question, nothing personal or prying. Just random things. Levi learned many things about Eren, like the fact that the brunet was trying to finish med-school so he could start a residency at the local hospital. He was currently balancing school on top of taking care of Isabel and working at a small family-owned pharmacy near Isabel's school. Levi in turn, shared a bit about his own job woes, especially about his job at Scouting Legion. He found it a little bit scary just how easy it was to talk to Eren who seemed to hang on his every word, and even laughed at his horrible shit-jokes. 

Eventually, minutes had passed and there was a soft knocking on the front door snapping both Eren and Levi out of their chatty mood. Eren scrambled up to his feet to answer the door and Levi could hear slightly excited yet muffled conversation from the foyer before it fell silent and a petite blonde girl sudden burst through the hall, straight toward Isabel's room. Following slowly behind, Eren reappeared with another familiar blond Levi had seen at the bar weeks before. 

He was on the short side, but not nearly as short as Levi was, regrettably. His blond hair was pulled back into a short ponytail with his fringe left messily hanging over his eyes and framing his round face. Frame-less reading glasses perched on the bridge of his button nose, giving his round baby face a more mature look. He was wearing a white button-up tucked into the hem of his fitted khaki's which on anyone else would have looked absolutely dorky but on this guy, it was rather fetching. A pair of Sapphire blue eyes landed on Levi's figure sitting at one far end of the cream-colored couch and a polite smile lit up the blond's face. 

"Hello," he greeted in a slightly youthful voice. Levi could easily imagine the blond having a rather pitchy voice when he was a teenager, no doubt. "You must be Mr. Ackerman." 

Levi felt slightly uncomfortable being called 'Mr. Ackerman' now that he knew Eren was older than him and no doubt, blondie here was probably older than him as well, despite his very youthful face but Levi could see wisdom in his bright eyes. He'd seen a lot of things with those eyes and despite their brightness, a familiar darkness also loomed behind them. 

"Just Levi is fine." he corrected.

"Nice to meet you, Levi. I'm Armin. I hope you don't mind I brought my little sister Krista over to rehearse with Mikasa and Isabel as well?" Armin took a seat across from Levi, claiming the smaller loveseat for himself, to which Levi was slightly grateful for. 

"It's fine. And I know who you are, I saw you at Scouting Legion one night when you came in to ask out my co-worker Annie and chickened out." 

Armin blushed furiously, nearly cringing before he was saved from further embarrassment by Eren returning to the living room after briefly slipping away into the kitchen to get Armin his own cup of what Levi could smell was freshly brewed coffee. The blond looked grateful as he took the over-sized mug into his slender hands and inhaled the strong scent of dark roast. Levi had never been a fan of coffee but he supposed he could find the appeal in the smell of it, at least. 

"Long night at the hospital, Ar?" Eren asked, thankfully changing the subject, a slightly sympathetic look in his eyes as he watched the blond man drink down half his cup in the first drink. "Armin's a Doctor at Maria Hospital." he added on, glancing over at Levi briefly before he took a seat on the edge of the couch Levi was sitting on. 

At the mention of Maria Hospital, Levi perked up slightly. Maria Hospital was where Hanji worked in the labs on all her weird research shit. He wondered, if it was at all possible for Hanji to possibly know Armin at all. But for all he knew, they probably didn't even work in the same department. 

"Don't talk to me about work," Armin groaned, placing his coffee mug down on the coaster on the coffee table. "I've been in the lab for nearly three days and just managed to go home late last night. Dr. Zoe can be such a slave driver for being only a third-year resident." a fond chuckle followed that statement. "Still, I can't deny that she's a genius." 

"Dr. Zoe? You don't happen to mean Hanji Zoe?" Levi piped up. He'd long since finished his tea. 

Armin seemed to brighten at the mention of Hanji, "Yes, actually. Do you know her?" 

Levi chuckled wryly, "Unfortunately. She's my best friend." 

"Oh?" Eren expressed curiously. "How long have you known each other?" 

"Too long," Levi said without an ounce of hesitation. "Since Middle School, at least." 

Armin and Eren exchanged knowing looks with one another before smiling brightly, "You think that's long?" Eren asked. 

"Eren and I have known each other since Elementary School." Armin added helpfully. "We even lived together for a bit." 

"What a disaster that turned out to be." Eren sighed, a fond twinkle in his eye as he looked back at Armin who seemed to share the same fond look. 

Levi felt his stomach twist with sudden jealousy. It was obvious by the way Eren and Armin stared at each other that there was clearly something more than just friendship between the two of them, or at least-- there _was_. Whatever the case, Levi was utterly shocked at how quickly he seemed to become jealous of learning about one of Eren's possible past flames. He'd only just barely begun learning about the brunet a few minutes ago and he was already getting possessive? It was insane. Levi had no claim over Eren, whatsoever. He had absolutely no right to be getting jealous over someone that did not belong to him and yet, he just could help the burning, aching feeling that was sinking into his gut every time Eren and Armin even so much as glanced at one another for any longer than Levi deemed necessary. 

"Levi! Look!" Mikasa's excited voice cut into his darkening thoughts, pulling Levi back into reality. 

He turned in his spot on the couch to look over the back and see Mikasa standing there, Isabel and Krista at her side beaming. One of his eyebrows arched as he took in the odd sight before him, Mikasa standing there cradling a rather hairy rabbit in her tiny arms. It was nearly all black, with just the tips of it's very hairy ears dipped white and it's tiny paws baring white socks as well. It had so much hair, in fact, that Levi couldn't even tell if it even had any eyes. It looked like a giant hairball of fluff. 

"I see Izzy's introduced Dream Smasher to Mikasa." Eren chuckled, shaking his head slightly at the giggling red-head. 

"Levi, can we get a bunny rabbit too? Pleeease?" 

Levi sighed upon seeing the smaller Ackerman, a pleading look in her eyes. This was _not_ the way he imagined his afternoon going. He did his best to keep Mikasa from seeing any pet stores whenever they went shopping at the malls, and even did his best to keep her away from the fish they had at the back of every Wal-Mart. Pets and Levi just didn't mix. Not because he didn't like them. He did. It was just that his luck with pets was always very bad and it never failed that whenever Levi had a pet of any sort, it died some kind of horrible death. 

When he was five, he'd had a goldfish. He had for a grand total of one day before his Alcoholic uncle Kenny swallowed it. When he was seven, he had a black rabbit. A couple of weeks into owning it, his uncle Kenny shot it when it got out of it's cage. When he was ten, he had the cutest little German Shepard puppy. Three days later, it was run over by a car right in front of him. It was no wonder Levi had so many damn issues now as an adult, and there was no way Levi was going to let Mikasa go through the same trauma and pain of losing a pet. 

"Mika, you know what I said about having pets." he said sternly, feeling a pang of guilt upon seeing the deflated look that slowly grew on Mikasa's face. 

The apartment was silent for a few tense moments, no one daring to break it, except of course Eren Jaeger. 

"Hey, Mikasa." he waited until the little girl's large eyes were focused on him. "If you want, you can come over and play with Dream Smasher whenever you want, okay?" Sea-glass colored eyes turned to look at Levi, catching him slightly off-guard. "As long as Levi's okay with it, of course." 

Without much thought to his answer, Levi dazedly replied with, "Yeah, sure." and he was fucked. 

The next few hours consisted of the three little girls coming out of Isabel's room every so often to either get snacks or ask for help on something, and Levi, Eren and Armin sitting in the living room discussing 'adult things' like work, mostly. Surprisingly, Levi found himself getting along rather well with Armin. They had a lot to talk about when it came to their mutual friendship with Hanji, and Armin even shared some hilarious and albeit scary experiences with some of Hanji's crazy lab experiments. Levi shared some scary experiment stories of his own, from their teenage years in high school and Armin was amused. Eren would join in the conversation every now and again, but only when he wasn't busy making the girls snacks in the kitchen or helping them with their lines. 

Before Levi knew it, it was dark outside and he'd just spent the entire fucking day at Eren Jaeger's apartment and it wasn't a total disaster. In fact, it was the most enjoyable time Levi had had in a very long time and that was saying something. Levi didn't typically enjoy company, especially that of near strangers. But it was just so easy with Eren. Everything was. He just made Levi feel so comfortable and at home, even when he was talking about some pretty deep stuff. Armin was good company as well, smart and quick-witted and able to counter some of Levi's sarcastic remarks which was incredible. Eren didn't seem in the least bit fazed by Levi's potty-mouth, although Armin seemed a bit uncomfortable at first. When it came to Levi's famous verbal insults, Eren was able to roll with the punches and didn't take any of them seriously. 

As Levi and Mikasa walked into the doorway of their small one-bedroom apartment, looking back on their day at Eren and Isabel's, Levi realized he was in much deeper shit than he originally thought he was. Shrugging off his leather jacket and hanging it up, Levi seemed distracted and deep in thought. That is, until Mikasa practically threw herself into his arms when he sat on the sofa. 

Levi grunted at the impact, "Hey, watch it, kid. You're cruising for a bruising." he threatened halfheartedly. 

Mikasa only hummed into the fabric of his black t-shirt, inhaling deeply and then sighing the most content sigh he'd ever heard leave her tiny lips. 

"Thanks for letting me hang out with Isabel and Krista today, Levi." she said tiredly before yawning. "I had a lot of fun." 

Sighing, Levi stroked the top of her head, feeling his own eyes becoming heavy with sleep. 

"Didn't I tell you, Kid? Anything for you. As long--" he paused to yawn. "--as you're happy. Now, lets get you ready for bed. It's late." 

Reluctantly pulling himself up from the comfort of the couch, Levi carried an already half-asleep Mikasa in his arms toward the bedroom. His footsteps were heavy and he was dragging ass, never realizing just how tired he actually was from literally spending the day with the guy he's currently insanely attracted to. After getting a rather fussy Mikasa changed into her Pajamas, Levi forced himself to shower before going to bed and finally- _finally!_ \- he slunk underneath the clean sheets alongside Mikasa, pulling her close to his chest and holding her protectively in his arms. That night, he dreamed of eyes that had oceans and millions of stars poured into them.

\- -

_♪ Wish I had someone on whom I could lean  
Still I don't want no one's charity ♪_

\- -

Weeks later, without him even really noticing it happening, Levi had somehow found himself going over to Eren's apartment more often than not. At first, he'd dreaded going. Forcing himself to put on a brave face, if only just to please Mikasa. It seemed she and Isabel had grown quite fond of each other, and Eren was honestly good company so there was really no downside to this situation, other than the fact that every time Levi spent any extended amount of time with Eren, he felt himself falling more and more in love with the brunet. It was the very thing he'd told himself from the very beginning that he wasn't going to allow to happen, and yet, here he was. Sitting at the island in Eren's kitchen, helping him make snacks for Isabel and Mikasa while the girls watched The Princess and the Frog in the living room.

"So, what the fuck is the story behind the Rabbit's name? I mean, Dream Smasher is a pretty brutal name for a bunny, don't you think?" Levi asked, as he cut the crust off the sandwich he was preparing for Mikasa. 

Eren licked off some mayo that he'd somehow gotten on his hand before answering, "Well, it's a funny story, really. The first day we brought him home, Isabel made the mistake of letting him hop around on his own while I was busy setting up the cage for him in the bathroom and we had just bought this really nice pull-out sofa-bed that was just pure heaven. I had saved up three months worth of pay checks for this fucking couch, and the first thing the damn bunny does when Isabel lets him loose is chews up the leather. I was so fucking devastated! That couch was my dream couch and the rabbit had completely destroyed it."

Levi smirked upon hearing the mournful tone in Eren's voice, "Sucks to be you." 

"The name didn't come to me right away, though. At first, I wanted to name him 'Destroyer of Worlds' because that's exactly what he'd done. But then after a few tries, we both settled on the name Dream Smasher and it just stuck. Weird, I know, but to this day I still think that damn rabbit is Satan incarnate." Eren finished with a chuckle. 

Levi watched from the corner of his eyes as Eren licked his lips, following the pink muscle as it moistened those plump lips that Levi had been imagining kissing since day one. He swallowed thickly, tearing his gaze away from the hypnotic sight of Eren and his effortless beauty. 

"Hey, guys. Lunch is ready!" Eren called cheerfully, though there was really no need. The living room was easily seen from just over the kitchen island and the girls were no more then maybe ten feet away from them. 

Isabel paused the move and all but leaped off the couch, Mikasa following behind her but with much less excitement. If there was one thing Levi learned in his time spent with the Jaeger siblings, it was that both Eren and Isabel seemed to have enough energy to light the city of new york for _days_. He just couldn't understand where Eren got all that fucking energy from when he was always splitting his free time between studying, working and homework and taking care of Isabel. Levi wanted to ask Eren was his secret was, but in truth, Levi could see how tired the brunet was most times. It was in the faint bags under his eyes and the way he sometimes just seemed more sluggish than usual. 

The four of them ate lunch together and when the kitchen was all cleaned (Levi washing the dishes, of course.) the two men joined the girls on the couch to watch the end of the movie. Afterwards, the girls were still full of pent up energy so they begged Levi and Eren to play a board game with them, to which Eren was enthusiastic about and Levi was slightly reluctant. Three hours later, Levi had successfully finished robbing everyone of their monopoly money and then Eren and Isabel were competing against each other in a game of DDR. Levi watched, silently amused from the couch as Eren sometimes tripped over his own feet and Isabel getting so easily frustrated whenever she missed a step, Mikasa had reserved herself to watching from the couch as well. 

Before they all knew it, it was nearly nine o clock at night and Mikasa had fallen asleep in Isabel's room. When he went to go and wake her up, Eren stopped him by placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. Levi felt shivers run through him at the warm touch, the feel of Eren's large hand squeezing him gently brought about a pleasure he hadn't known was possible from such brief contact. 

"Why not just let the girls sleep? Tomorrow's sunday anyway and it's already so late to be walking to the bus."

This was bad. Bad on so many different levels because, it had only been a few months since Levi met Eren and just a few short weeks since he even started getting to know the brunet and now he was being offered the chance to spend the night in the same apartment with said stupidly attractive brunet? This just spelled all kinds of bad but... Levi was so very tempted to accept that offer. He was very tired, and he was not looking forward to walking the two or three blocks to the bus stop at this time of night while carrying a sleeping six-year-old. Levi could deal with a lot of things, but he was only human.

"I don't think that would be a very good-" 

Levi was interrupted by the shaking of Eren's said and the brunet sighing in annoyance, "Levi," he nearly groaned. "I know you're a little uncomfortable, being around me, I mean. But it's not like I'm going to eat you. You can sleep on the couch, there's more than enough room. Trust me. I've spent many a night sleeping on that couch staying up late studying." he chuckled. 

And just like that, Levi was soothed. But, he needed to make one thing very clear to Eren first. It was important that he get this out of the way now before any misunderstandings came up later down the line. 

"Fine, I'll stay. But lets get one thing clear here, Jaeger. I'm not uncomfortable being around you, I never said I was." 

At this point, the two of them were standing very closely to one another in the dark, narrow corridor leading to Isabel's room whispering softly so as to not wake the girls. They were so close, in fact, that Levi could feel Eren's soft breath every time the brunet spoke. It tickled his face and brushed against his own cheeks, a hint of something sweet on his breath like cinnamon. As if reading his mind, Eren was the first one to move out of the corridor and out into the spacious living room, Levi following slowly behind him. 

"Sorry," Eren apologized quietly, his voice soft and sweet. "I just kind of figured you were uncomfortable around me after, you know... that whole thing at the bar. Plus, you're always so on your guard and tense whenever you're here. I feel like you never relax whenever you're around me." 

"Tch," Levi sucked his teeth in annoyance as he sunk down into a corner of the sofa, his arms crossed over his chest, one leg curled underneath him. "I'm always like that, regardless of where I am. It's just how I am. I'm... not used to being around someone like you." 

Eren walked across the room toward a rather impressive stereo system and began rifling through some CD's that were carelessly piled next to it. Levi watched his movements closely. The way his shoulder blades shifted underneath the fabric of his forest green t-shirt, the bare nape of Eren's neck as he craned it forward while looking through the CD's. The broad set of his strong shoulders and the way he crossed one of his ankles over the other, one of his toes scratching at his opposite foot. He loved all of it. 

A soft snort came from Eren, "What do you mean 'someone like me'? Am I somehow different from everyone else? Aside from my stubborn, hard-headed nature?"

Finally, Eren seemed to settle on a CD he wanted to listen to and he popped it into the Stereo before pressing play and allowing a mellow tune to fill the living room. It was just loud enough for Levi to hear it but not loud enough to be distracting or anything other than the soft buzz of background noise. 

[(X)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QI8VrXkffcg)

With his task now done, Eren turned back to face Levi and walked over to the couch to join him. The brunet sat on the other end of the couch, slightly facing toward Levi and looking curious as he waited for some type of answer from the raven-haired man. Levi swallowed dryly, suddenly at a loss for words now that he was face-to-face with the object of all his affections.

  
_♪ Whispered something in your ear_  
_it was a perverted thing to say_  
_but I said it anyway_  
_Made you smile and look away_

_Nothing's gonna hurt you, baby_  
_As long as you're with me, you'll be just fine_  
_Nothing's gonna hurt you, baby_  
_Nothing's gonna take you from my side ♪_  


"I mean," Levi started awkwardly, unsure of what he was really trying to say anymore. Everything that was coming out of his mouth was like word-vomit. He just couldn't control it. "You're just... so easy to talk to. Easy to be around. I'm not--" he paused to look down at the fabric of the couch cushion, suddenly finding them very interesting. "--I'm not used to that, I guess."

Eren seemed to find his answer just as surprising as he did, considering Levi never was one for giving out a lot of information about, well, anything. His answers were always vague and very brief for the most part and he hardly ever said anything without a hint of sarcasm or annoyance in his voice. This-- this was something completely different. The air between them seemed almost charged, electrifying. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, and the urge to just stare at Eren, stare into those endless pools of green and blue overcame him. Chancing a glance up at the brunet who was suddenly very quiet, Levi was greet with the very adorable sight of Eren looking quite flustered and flushed. 

"Um--" Eren swallowed. "I'm sorry, I guess? I don't really know if that's a good or bad thing. The fact that you find me easy to be around." Suddenly, it was Eren's turn to find the couch cushions interesting. Those amazing eyes of his were now trained on the fabric instead of where Levi really wanted them to be right now; on his own face, staring right back into his own eyes and drowning him. And then, the gap between them was slowly being closed, by none other than Levi himself.

  
_♪ When we dance in my living room_  
_to the silly 90's heart beat_  
_When we have a drink or three_  
_Always ends in a hazy shower scene_

_Nothing's gonna hurt you, baby_  
_As long as you're with me, you'll be just fine_  
_Nothing's gonna hurt you, baby_  
_Nothing's gonna take you from my side ♪_  


It started with an innocent touch, Levi softly caressing Eren's hand with his own. The sound of Eren's breath hitching slightly as soon as their skin made that electric contact. The way Eren's trachea bobbed nervously in his throat as he hesitantly glanced up to meet Levi's heavy gaze. Grey clashing with teal and suddenly, Levi was staring out into the infinite universe of stars in Eren's eyes once again, getting utterly lost in them and not giving a damn. Seeing them this closely had Levi leaning in before he even really registered what he was doing. His mind was foggy and any warning bells sounding off in his head were far off and distant now. His only focus being Eren right in front of him, finally within arms reach.

Their noses brushed, Eren's shuddered breath warming his own lips, feeling the moisture. It was like everything was in slow motion, as cheesy as it sounded. The world seemed to literally stop for them in that single second, and the time it took for their lips to finally meet felt like a goddamn eternity. But when they did finally meet-- it was cosmic.

  
_♪ Nothing's gonna hurt you, baby_  
_Nothing's gonna take you from my side... ♪_  


Have you ever kissed someone and seen stars going supernova? Levi had. That was the only way he could describe the feeling he got when kissing Eren for the first time. The explosive moment when their lips finally met. Soft, hesitant, shy and then suddenly once Eren was sure, his lips became a wild storm against Levi's. Hard, confident and bold. His kisses were bruising, slightly painful but in the best possible way. It felt good, kissing Eren with reckless abandon. Not caring about his fucked up life, or his past mistakes or his current worries and possible future problems. All that mattered, was right then, in that very moment. The way Eren's lips seemed to just mold perfectly against his, slotting into perfect harmony. Their first kiss seemed to last eons and yet when they finally pulled away, Levi felt like it was much too soon. He immediately craved those lips once more; needed them pressed against his like his life depended on it. Like they were his only lifeline from being left out in the cold empty space of the universes in Eren's eyes, drifting aimlessly.

They were both silent as they pulled away. Levi staring at Eren's lips and occasionally glancing up into the brunet's face only to find Eren's eyes closed, long lashes brushing gently against his flushed cheeks. His lips were kiss-swollen and maybe a bit bruised, but Levi wouldn't have had it any other way. 

"God," Eren finally breathed out. His eyes fluttering open slowly, like he was waking from a dream. 

"I don't really believe in god but... yeah, I agree." Levi chuckled. 

Eren huffed out a laugh, bright eyes slowly raising up to meet Levi's finally. They were simply gorgeous. Levi could probably just sit there and stare at them for hours on end, searching for the constellations and trying to point out and name each one. 

"So, does this mean...?" Eren sounded hopeful but also a bit worried at the same time, so he dared not finish that question. 

Levi gulped loudly, his heart pounding in his ears. He'd just taken a leap of faith and kissed Eren on a whim, hoping it would be everything he had dreamed it would be and it was so much more in the end. He wasn't entirely sure what any of this meant, wasn't sure if this meant he and Eren were going to start dating now but more than anything, Levi wanted to see this thing through. Especially if it meant getting to kiss Eren like that again.

"I don't know what it means," Levi admitted honestly, because he didn't. "All I do know is that I definitely want to kiss you again, and maybe a lot more after this. Whatever that may mean to you." 

"Okay," was all Eren said before his lips found Levi's again.

Time was of no importance, as it seemed to just fade while the two of them were wrapped up in each other's arms. They could have kissed for minutes, or hours even. Neither of them could tell and quite frankly, they didn't care. Each kiss was even more explosive than the last, intoxicating Levi more than any amount of alcohol could and by the end of it all, Levi was left a boneless heap in Eren's arms. His lips bruised and chapped, and his heart full and overflowing.

\- -

_♪ Heartbreak and bullets can try_  
to steal any good from my life  
Fathers and Lovers have lied  
Rivers have flowed from my eyes ♪ 

\- -

The days and weeks following that incident, had Levi feeling like he was constantly walking on cloud nine. As silly as it sounded, the word seemed to be covered in a dream-like film whenever Levi took time out of his busy day to actually look at the things going on around him. It was nearing late December now, but even the harsh and bitter cold wasn't enough to suck the warmth Levi constantly felt in his chest now whenever he woke up in the mornings.

For the most part, Levi still spent most of his time at Eren's apartment with the girls having frequent sleepovers. But sometimes, on the rare occasion that Levi was just too tired to even bother leaving the house after work, Eren and Isabel would drop by their apartment and just relax and watch movies with them. Eren would either bring food with him or he'd cook something for everyone, and that was such a goddamn fucking blessing because work had been absolute hell on Levi since the Holiday season started. 

He wasn't sure if he and Eren were actually dating, so he wasn't totally comfortable with calling Eren his boyfriend and vice-versa. But Levi would definitely admit, it was nice as fuck to have someone to take care of him for a change. It had been far too long since he'd been taken care of. Not since Farlan. It was painful to think about, but Levi found some similarities between Eren and his deceased lover. Of course, they were two very completely different people, but it was in their acts of kindness that Levi found similarities. 

Where Farlan had been more calm and level-headed, mature and often the voice-of-reason. Eren was stubborn and had a bit of a temper when things didn't go the way he wanted them to. He could be childish more often than not, but Levi found his youthful personality refreshing and ironic considering Eren was the older one of the two of them. But the way Eren always thought of Levi first, always asked if he needed anything or if he was alright. The way he worried about Mikasa and offered to help with picking her up from school or helping her study or with homework. They way Eren just _cared_ , was painfully reminiscent to Farlan. And Levi hoped he wasn't making yet another mistake that would result in heartache for both he and Mikasa. 

"Eren! Guess what?" Mikasa chirped excitedly as soon as she saw Eren walk through their apartment door. 

His arms were full of grocery bags and Levi cocked a brow in silent inquiry at the amount of items in each hand. Eren simply smiled impishly at him, revealing nothing as usual. He could be sneaky like that but Levi was usually sharp enough to catch onto whatever he was playing at. 

"Hey, Mikasa! Um, lemme think..." Eren hummed in thought as he set the grocery bags down on their small kitchen counter top, Isabel following hot on Mikasa's tail looking like she was about to explode with excitement. "You finally lost your first baby tooth?" 

Mikasa immediately deflated, turning an angry glare toward Isabel who giggled like mad before running away from a livid Mikasa. The giggling red-head was chased into the living room, just as Levi entered the kitchen to help Eren unload all the groceries he'd brought with him. 

"Mika, no jumping on the couch." Levi called out sternly in warning, and just as soon as he did the furious giggling and indignant yelling ceased, causing the older Ackerman to shake his head. 

"Just breathe, Levi." Eren reminded him with a sweet smile. 

_'How can I breath when you're smiling at me like that, you shit?'_ Levi thought to himself. He'd never dare say that out loud. 

"So, what's with all the shit in the bags?" Levi decided to ask instead. 

"It's not shit," Eren smirked. "It's dinner!"

And just like that, Eren had somehow managed to bust his way into Levi's life like some kind of start going supernova on him and Levi was left open and defenseless against the blast. Having Eren around was both exciting and terrifying, and Levi wasn't exactly sure which he felt more of. All he knew was that he was happy for the first time in what seemed like years, and he was going to be a little selfish and enjoy it while whatever this was with Eren lasted.


	2. And They Lived Happily Ever After...? Yeah, that works.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the promised part 2 of this story, guys! Hope y'all enjoy!

In the blink of an eye, the months had passed, and soon Levi was enduring his first crisis since officially starting to date Eren. Having to fully explain his past to him. It had been almost an entire year since they started dating, and Levi was more than positive he could trust Eren and tell him just about anything. But the matter of his own dark past was a sensitive one. He would admit to being nervous and just a tiny bit scared. The infinite 'What-If's' scenarios playing out in his head as he paced back and forth in the small kitchen of his silent apartment, but the one 'What-if' that had Levi nearly trembling was; 

"What if Eren decides he doesn't want to be with me anymore after I tell him?" This he'd asked out loud to the only other person he'd ever admit his true feelings to.

"Well, if that happens then you were too good for him and he didn't deserve you anyway." Hanji answered without a beat of hesitation. She was seated comfortably on top of Levi's counter top, swinging her long legs to and fro as she watched Levi pace back and forth. 

He shot her a dark glare, "Gee, that didn't take you very long to answer, Shitty-glasses. It's not that fucking simple. I--" Levi hesitated, swallowing thickly before continuing. "--I really fucking love him, Hanji. So much that it scares me to death. It scares me to know that he could, at any given time, not want this anymore. That he won't want _me_ anymore. And that he'll leave and take whatever's left of my heart with him and that'll be the end of it. Mikasa will have to go through another experience like with Farlan, and I'll probably..." his voice trailed off, not wanting to finish that thought out loud. _'I'll probably wanna die, if Eren ever left.'_

Hanji rolled her eyes dramatically, clearly not wanting to encourage Levi's theatrics. "Oh, get a grip, short-stuff!" She groaned, jumping off the counter top and grabbing Levi by his shoulders to shake him. "EREN IS FANTASTIC AND HE'S SO OBVIOUSLY CRAZY ABOUT YOU! _You're_ the only one who doesn't seem to see it. I think you could tell him you murdered an entire family and buried them in a shallow grave and kept locks of their hair as rewards and you carry them around with you, like some creepy psycho and Eren would _STILL_ be stupidly in love with you! Don't you get it!?" 

Levi roughly tore himself away from her grip, sucking his teeth in annoyance and wiping some spit off his face. He loved Hanji, he really did, but sometimes when she got too excited and started shouting and screaming like a banshee, she tended to spit a lot and if there was one thing Levi would not tolerate, it was being spit on. 

"Fucking disgusting, Shitty-glasses!" he hissed. "And what the fuck are you even talking about? Have you fucking _seen_ Eren at all? He's perfect in every fucking way. There's no chance in hell that he's _that_ in love with me." 

Hanji groaned again, even more loudly this time before just outright slapping Levi upside the head, earning her a rather shocked look and an even deadlier glare to which she simply shrugged off. She smiled big and wide, almost manically but not quite, before shaking her head from side to side. Her pony tail of wild rusty brown hair bouncing along with her movements. 

"You're hopeless," she sighed with a fond smile. "You just need to tell him everything and find out for yourself, my little oompa loompa!" 

Before Hanji could slip away uninjured, Levi caught up with her just before she darted out his apartment door and quite literally kicked her in the ass causing her to stumble forward a good foot out the door. But, in typical Hanji manner, she only laughed loudly while rubbing her bottom and scampering away. In the end, Levi felt even more conflicted and nervous after talking this out with Hanji. 

But, he took her advice nonetheless, and he told Eren everything that evening after he returned from taking the girls out to the museum downtown. He had lied about not feeling well enough to go with them, but in truth, Levi just needed to get his own shit together before possibly ruining the best relationship of his life. He'd started from the very beginning, after the girls had promptly fallen asleep once their cotton-candy induced sugar rush had died.

He was extremely hesitant, at first. Starting from the earliest part of his memory, of his mother and her struggle raising him as a single parent before illness took her from him and he was then raised by his estranged uncle. About Kenny's abusive nature and alcoholic rampages, and how he was absent most of Levi's childhood. He told Eren about his troubled teenage years, getting into constant fights with neighborhood gang-bangers, giving credit to his abusive Uncle for instilling a strong will to live within him and teaching him how to fight for his life. Spoke fondly of his Younger uncle and his beautiful wife, Mikasa's parents, who helped him escape Kenny's evil clutches and taught him what it was like to live in a loving family with parents that loved and cared for him. Choked back tears when he recalled the day Mikasa's parents were murdered in cold blood, and a small, defenseless newborn baby girl was the only survivor of the tragedy. 

And Eren listened, and did his best to sooth Levi whenever some parts of his past seemed too much for him to recall. The worst memories for him to recall were obviously the ones with his Uncle Kenny and the memory of his fists raining down on him, the taste of copper on his tongue and the sting of open cuts and the throbbing of fresh bruises forming on pale skin. He told Eren everything, from the day he dropped out of high school to take care of his newborn cousin, to the day he met Farlan, and lost him as well. It was the only time during those two hours of Levi talking that he actually shed tears, and Eren could still see how much Farlan's death affected him. 

When all was said and done, when Levi had finally come to the end of his long, violent past, all the fear and anxiety pent up in his body was washed away by the pair of strong arms wrapping themselves around his body, enveloping his smaller frame in an avalanche of body heat. Levi's lips were assaulted with a blistering kiss that quite literally took his breath away because he hadn't been expecting it at all. The two of them became a mess of tangled limbs on Levi's old, worn couch and while a bit cramped for two grown men to be laying together on, Levi wouldn't have had it any other way. Eren had yet to say a word, until the two of them had finally stopped indulging in the nonstop kisses that the brunet peppered Levi's jawline with.

"That explains everything." he'd mumbled at first, catching Levi a bit off guard for a moment or two. 

"Like what?" Levi had mumbled back. He was comfortably stretched out on top of Eren's longer body, resting the side of his head against Eren's chest, listening to the soothing sound of his heart beating rhythmically. 

"It explains why you've always been so guarded all this time, especially about our relationship. I always thought that, maybe I was pushing you too hard and it scared me. All this time, I've been afraid that I was moving too fast for you and that you'd eventually just end it. End _us_." Eren voice trembled softly at the end of his statement. His voice was so soft, softer than Levi had ever heard beside the quiet, loving whispers shared between the sheets. It made his heart ache, but in the best possible way. "But now, I understand everything and I want you to know that I'll always be here for you and Mikasa because I love you, both of you. So much. No matter what happens to us in the future."

The feeling of pure relief was one Levi was not very familiar with, but in this case, he accepted it fully. He'd finally told Eren everything there was to know about him, about his past and about the reason why he is the way he is, and Eren was still here and he still wanted him. That was all Levi ever wanted out of this one life he had. For better or for worse, he wanted Eren. 

"Fuck only knows why you still wanna put up with me, after everything I've just told you." Levi hadn't meant for that to sound so bitter, but it had and he immediately felt guilty. "Sorry, I--" 

"Levi," Eren stopped him before he could give him some half-assed excuse. "Love is many things. It's jealous, it's possessive, it's painful and sometimes downright cruel. But it's also understanding. Love is patient and unconditional, and it can be confused with insanity because of the things people are willing to do for the sake of love. Don't ever think of my presence as me simply putting up with you, because that's not why I'm still here. I'm here because I can't bare the thought of not being here, with you, with Mikasa and Isabel. I'm here because I love you, and don't you ever fucking forget it." 

It shouldn't have surprised him as much as it did, to hear the slight threat in Eren's voice, the way it dipped into that dangerous, feral growl whenever he was angry or upset about something, but it did. Because it was just as Hanji had said to him earlier that day. Eren really _was_ crazy about him, but he was just too blinded by his own insecurities to see it until now. He put Eren so far up on a pedestal that he didn't even stop to consider the fact that maybe, Eren had him on a high pedestal of his own. His flaws didn't matter to Eren, nor did he seem to notice them as flaws at all. To Eren, Levi was perfect.

"Eren," Levi whispered, despite his best efforts to say his next words loud and clear. "I love you, too." 

And suddenly all was right in the universe. The stars in Eren's eyes seemed to be dancing, lighting them up and turning those distant stars into tiny little suns of their own that warmed the endless oceans in Eren's eyes. Levi couldn't count how many times he'd bathed in those waters, drowned in them only to be saved and brought back to life by Eren's sweet kiss. Since that night, when they shared their very first kiss in the quiet of Eren's apartment so many months ago, each kiss since then has been just as cosmic as the first time. And with each kiss, Levi discovered an entire new universe of planets and starts all over again.

\- -

_♪ You have turned on a light_  
and I've lost my sight  
My eyes may not work for me now  
but my heart sure remembers the sound  
so, if you're saying it  
please say it loud  
and don't let me down ♪ 

\- -

**Ten years later**

"Levi, I'm going out." Mikasa called from the foyer of their house.

Levi poked his head out of the entrance to the kitchen, an apron splashed with white flour and other miscellaneous baking ingredients was tied around his neck. He settled a stern look at his now sixteen-year-old baby cousin, dressed in dark skinny jeans, a baggy cream colored sweater and that familiar red scarf Eren had given to her for her birthday years ago wrapped warmly around her slender neck, the last of her accessories was a slouched blood-red beanie hiding most of her onyx hair. Much to Levi's vexation, Mikasa had already passed him up in height despite him being a thirty-three-year-old man. 

"I shouldn't have to ask you if you know the rules?" he reminded her firmly. 

Mikasa rolled her eyes in annoyance but complied, "Yeah, I know. I have my cell phone, portable charger just in case, I'll be sure to text you every other hour to tell you where I'm at and who I'm with and I'll be home by ten o clock. Can I go now? Jean's waiting outside in his car." 

Suddenly, a head of messy chestnut hair popped out from the entrance to the kitchen as well, Eren's bright eyes narrowed in suspicion and a deep scowl on his face. After ten years, Eren still didn't look his age in the least but he'd developed faint wrinkles around the corners of his eyes, only really noticeable when he smiled and crows feet appeared. He'd let his hair grow long, no longer bothering to keep it manageable but instead adopting the long, messy look but Levi admitted to liking Eren with long hair, if only just to have something to tug on during sex which was always a turn on for Eren. It was win-win. 

"You're going out with Shadowfax again?" Eren asked, disgust clear on his face at the thought of his adopted 'daughter' going out with the long-faced boy from her class.

Mikasa sighed, though no eye roll was anywhere in sight. With age, Mikasa had come to grow very close with Eren to the point where she stopped listening to Levi and only ever listened to whatever Eren asked her to do. It was vexing when she was a pre-teen and still was, but as vengeance, Isabel had grown to only listen to Levi now that she was older. It seemed Levi was the only one who could put the wild child in her place these days and it frustrated Eren to no end. 

"His name is _Jean_ , and yes, I'm going out with him again. We're going to the park to watch a scary movie. It is Halloween after all."

"No," Eren objected. "His name is Seabiscuit, because I said so and I don't want you going out with that horse-faced idiot!" 

A frown was slowly forming on Mikasa's face and Levi decided now was probably a good time to intervene, if he didn't want an argument to start. With two hormonal teenage girls living with two grown men in a four bedroom, two bath house, arguments were endless and they never failed to leave Levi with a migraine afterwards. 

"Eren," Levi called him softly, placing a gentle hand against his husbands chest and using his other free hand to rub down Eren's bicep that was tense and flexing. "Calm down. I know that Jean kid can definitely be an idiot but remember that Mikasa has a black belt and she's currently enrolled in Judo and boxing classes. I think she'll be able to handle herself if the lord of all horses decides to make a move on her." At this, Levi turned his attention back on Mikasa who looked relieved. "But if he tries anything on you anyway, I don't care if you do beat his ass. I'll personally make sure he can never walk again, got it?" 

"MIKASAAAAA!! HURRY UP!" an all too familiar voice rang through the house, causing Levi to cringe and Eren to roll his eyes. 

"Isabel, what did I tell you about yelling in the house!? INSIDE VOICE, YOUNG LADY!!" Eren yelled back, much to Levi's exasperation. 

"Well, I wouldn't have to yell if Mikasa wasn't still in the house! Jean and everyone are waiting for us! We're gonna be late!" 

Sighing, Levi settled a resigned look on his baby cousin who was scowling out the front door where Isabel was hanging out of Jean's car window with what looked like four other kids in the backseat. 

"Hurry up and go hang out with your friends, Kid." Levi waved a dismissive hand, "Just be safe and don't let Isabel do anything stupid. We don't need another call from Mr. Pixis telling us Isabel T.P'd his front lawn again." 

Eren snorted a laugh, "You gotta admit, it was kinda funny." Levi only shot him an irritated look that had Eren laughing sheepishly. "I know, I know. I'm an idiot." 

Jogging up to the two men, Mikasa leaned forward and kissed Levi quickly on the cheek before jumping on her tiptoes to do the same with Eren before smiling and running off to go meet her friends out front. With one final sigh, Levi shook his head and turned to see a pouting Eren. 

"What's with that face? Are you not looking forward to spending a little alone time with your husband on Halloween night?" Levi teased with a smirk. "I'm hurt, Eren." 

Returning Levi's devious smirk, Eren bent forward to kiss Levi's lips. "Sweetheart, I look forward to spending everyday with you." 

"Cute," Levi chuckled before he batted Eren's searching hands away from slipping underneath his shirt. "But no sex, at least not yet. Hanji, Petra and Erwin should be here in less than an hour and we're still not done with these fucking cookies. Remind me again, who's bright fucking idea was it for us to get stuck baking pumpkin spice cookies from scratch instead of just buying the damn things from the store?" 

"But Levi, there's no love in those cookies!" Eren exclaimed, scandalized by the thought of eating store bought cookies. 

He followed Levi back into their kitchen, keeping his hands attached to either side of Levi's hips as they walked but behaving himself and not trying to get hands-y again. They really couldn't get too frisky because when it came to sex between the two of them, it was always long and drawn-out but mind-blowingly satisfying in the best ways. Quickies simply did not exist for Eren and Levi. And unless Levi wanted to be caught bent over the kitchen counter top with Eren's dick buried in his ass by his closest friends, which of course Levi didn't want, then they were better off waiting until their guests came and left. Still, it was always hard keeping Eren's hands to himself, especially when he really wanted something. 

"Right, of course it was your idea and I got stuck doing all the dirty work." Levi grumbled upon reaching his previous work station that was currently in a state of chaos. 

"That's not true, I'm helping too!" Eren pouted, finally removing his hands from Levi's hips and walking over to the sink to wash them. Levi silently appreciated this. 

"If by helping, you mean 'Distracting', then yes, you're helping out quite a lot. Too much, actually." Levi went back to reading the instructions in the cook book he'd picked up at the store earlier that afternoon. He was certainly no gourmet chef, if anything, Eren was the better cook in their relationship but considering Eren had just gotten home from a long shift at the hospital, Levi wanted to do something himself for a change instead of leaving the cooking and baking only to Eren. 

Levi shivered when he felt a pair of warm lips press against the nape of his bare neck, suddenly glad that he had decided not to wear a turtleneck sweater tonight. Eren's lips trailed softly down his neck, to his shoulders and down the toned muscle of his arm until he reached the back of Levi's hand and started sucking sensually on the tip of his husband's index finger, eliciting a soft moan from Levi at the wet sensation. 

"Eren," Levi warned, although the warning wasn't as loud as the pure want in his voice. "Fuck, you have to stop or else we'll--" 

"But I don't want to stop," Eren purred next to the shell of his ear. "You taste so delicious, like cinnamon and nutmeg." 

He hated to admit it, but Levi was weak when it came to Eren's sensual side. It was like he turned into a completely different person when he got into this mood. He became dominant and seductive in more ways than one, tempting Levi no matter how adamantly he refused. It was just something Levi would have to live with, but it was a damn good weakness if you asked him. 

In no time, Levi was spun around so that the small of his back was pressed against the counter top, his arms locked around Eren's neck as he allowed himself to be eaten alive by Eren's hungry mouth. Their kisses were fast and hard and heated, like they just couldn't get enough of each other and they just needed more, more, _more_. Levi panted against Eren's soft hair as hot lips traveled further south down his neck, biting, sucking and licking until they reached his collar bones, making his knees tremble and a rather loud moan to escape his lips. 

"Ahh, Eren, fuck yes." 

Levi was already so hard, it was painful, and he didn't doubt Eren was in a very similar state. Without wasting time, Eren sunk to his knees and hastily started popping the button of Levi's jeans open, pulling his zipper down with his teeth until Levi could feel Eren's hot breath against his clothed cock. There was already a very obvious wet spot making itself known, and Levi settled himself against the counter top, one elbow supporting his weight while his other hand carded roughly through Eren's long hair. His body was so hot, he wanted all his clothes off, but just as he was about to voice his displeasure, a familiar shriek nearly rendered them both deaf. 

"OH MY GOD, YOU GUYS WERE TOTALLY ABOUT TO DO IT IN THE KITCHEN!!!" 

The two men both shot their heads up toward the entrance of their kitchen to see a crazed looking Hanji standing there with her mouth hanging wide open, a just as shocked looking Petra and Armin standing next to her holding a bottle of wine and Erwin awkwardly smiling while trying not to stare. 

"Uh--" was all Eren could say as he tucked Levi back into his pants and stood up from his position on the floor. 

"Fuck." Levi cursed quietly as he turned around and started buttoning and zipping his pants up again. "You see? This is why I said we couldn't have sex until these idiots had left."

"We can leave, if you really want us to." Armin chuckled awkwardly. 

"Yeah, obviously Levi is going to be in a bad mood for the rest of the night now that we interrupted his almost-blow-job." Hanji snorted loudly. 

"Shut the fuck up, Hanji." 

"Hey, don't get mad at me, short-stuff. You know it's the truth." 

After having gotten passed that little awkward encounter, Eren showed their guests into the living room and got them settled while Levi calmed himself down and down a glass of wine in the kitchen. Okay, he would definitely admit to being a little grumpy now that they'd been walked in on in the middle of something _really_ fucking good, but that didn't mean Levi didn't want to see their friends. He did. He just liked the idea of Eren blowing him more, at the current time. He'd get over it... eventually. 

"Babe, I'm so sorry. I didn't think they would show up this early. I swear I thought we had a little more time." Eren said as he walked back into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around a sulking Levi's waist. "If you want, we can sneak into the bathroom and I can give you a quickie." he whispered into Levi's ear, sending a pleasurable shiver down the shorter man's spine. 

"You'd better, because otherwise it's going to be awkward as fuck if I have to sit through this entire night with a boner." Levi admitted bitterly. 

Eren laughed, and Levi couldn't help but crack a small smile of his own at the sound of Eren's laughter ringing in his ears. It was funny, how they'd first started out. So hesitant and unsure of themselves and if this relationship was really the right thing for the both of them to be doing at that time in their lives, but now, after all these years and all the good and bad times they've shared together, Levi couldn't have imagined his life turning out any other way. 

Never in a million years had he ever imagined himself living happily in a beautiful house, watching Mikasa grow up normally and with someone her own age who she could relate to and play with, not having to worry about money or what they were going to eat the next day because the man he fell in love with and married was a successful Doctor and Levi had established himself enough to open up his own tea shop. Life had unexpectedly given him Mikasa, and along with her came many responsibilities and worries but oddly enough, Life had also given him a man with galaxies in his eyes who accepted him and loved him just the way he was, no exceptions. 

"Hey, you two! Don't be getting too frisky in there!"

With a sigh, Eren kissed him gently on the lips and Levi felt his breath leave him. After all these years, Eren could still make his heart beat like crazy and make him feel like that first day he saw him at that Elementary school all over again. And Levi knew, for sure now, this love was meant to last endless lifetimes.

\- -

_♪ You're the dream of a Love one day found  
and a freedom from what kept me bound ♪_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE END!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed reading this dumb thing I wrote! I know I certainly enjoyed writing it. 
> 
> Dedicated to my darling Waifu, Paula~ <333 Love you, boo-bear!

**Author's Note:**

> This is only the first part of this (what was originally supposed to be a oneshot but I got so fucking frustrated with it so now it's a two-shot) two-shot, and I'll be posting the end to this in another chapter that will probably be relatively short. 
> 
> THIS IS A LAST-MINUTE BIRTHDAY GIFT FOR MY BEAUTIFUL, AMAZING, GORGEOUSLY AWESOME, SUPER KAWAII WAIFU, PAULA!! I hope this makes you smile and laugh even just a little bit, my precious, my love! YOU DESERVE ALL THE HAPPINESS IN THE WORLD TODAY, SWEET PEA. AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR OUR SKYPE DATE TONIGHT <333


End file.
